Commerce Department to reduce Intel’s funding on semiconductors

Los Angeles (AP) According to three individuals with knowledge of the program who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions, the Biden administration intends to cut back on some of Intel’s $8.5 billion in federal support for computer chip facilities across the nation.

The decrease is mostly a result of Intel earning an additional $3 billion to supply computer processors to the military. In March, President Joe Biden stated that Intel will get up to $11 billion in loans and $8.5 billion in direct investment.

The Associated Press was informed by those familiar with the grant that the modifications to Intel’s funding have nothing to do with the company’s financial history or accomplishments. The chipmaker declared in August that it would lay off 15,000 positions, or 15% of its workforce, in an effort to restructure its business and compete with more prosperous rivals like AMD and Nvidia.

In contrast to some of its competitors, Intel not only designs semiconductors but also produces them.

President Biden praised Intel two years ago for creating jobs through its intentions to establish a new plant close to Columbus, Ohio. The $20 billion project will create 3,000 full-time employment with an average annual salary of $135,000 and 7,000 construction positions, according to the president, who commended the corporation for its ambitions to develop a workforce of the future.

The money for the California-based tech behemoth is linked to a comprehensive 2022 law that President Biden has praised and that aims to revitalize semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. The $280 billion package, known as the CHIPS and Science Act, aims to improve the U.S. military’s technological and manufacturing capabilities while reducing the types of supply disruptions that happened in 2021, following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, when a shortage of chips caused factory assembly lines to stall and inflation to rise.

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Following pandemic-era worries that the loss of access to chips produced in Asia could send the U.S. economy into a recession, the Biden administration assisted in guiding the legislation. Lawmakers voiced concerns about China’s attempts to seize control of Taiwan, which produces more than 90% of the world’s advanced computer chips, as they pushed for the investment.

In order to help a Taiwanese semiconductor giant expand the facilities it is already developing in Arizona and better assure that the most advanced microchips are made domestically for the first time, the administration promised in August to contribute up to $6.6 billion. According to the Commerce Department, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. could add a third, recently announced production hub to its current plans for two buildings in Phoenix.

Tens of billions of dollars have been pledged by the administration to help build American semiconductor factories and lessen dependency on Asian suppliers, which Washington views as a security vulnerability.

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From Washington, Boak reported.

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