US President Joe Biden will be travelling to Syracuse on Thursday to announce a preliminary agreement with Micron Technology (memory chip maker). This agreement opens a new tab for up to $6.14 billion in subsidies for two chip factories, as per the White House. According to the agreement, the facilities in New York and Idaho will be funded under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, and it will aim to boost domestic manufacturing of chips and reduce reliance on supplies from China and Taiwan.
The US Commerce Department has said that the federal grants will support the construction of a fabrication plant, or fab, in Clay, New York. This is the first step toward Micron's plans to invest about $100 billion in New York and create employment for around 13,500 people. The said grants are likely to also provide initial funding for a facility in Boise, Idaho, unlocking a planned $25 billion investment in a fab to be co-located with the research and development facilities of Micron. It is expected to create around 6,500 jobs, according to the US Commerce Department.
The White House said, "Micron's total investment will be the largest private investment in New York and Idaho’s history, and will create over 70,000 jobs, including 20,000 direct construction and manufacturing jobs and tens of thousands of indirect jobs."
Biden's Visit To Syracuse
As per the White House, Biden will be visiting Syracuse to tout his administration's efforts to revitalise US manufacturing and strengthen national security. Upon reaching, he will address a campaign event in Westchester County in the evening.
Biden signed the $52.7 billion CHIPS bill back in August 2022 to subsidise US semiconductor production and research. Though semiconductors were invented in the US, but domestic companies produce only about 10 per cent of the world's chips and that too, and none of them are the most advanced ones. The White House on Thursday also said that at least $40 million in funds will be dedicated to training and workforce development, along with the creation of four more workforce hubs in upstate New York, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Michigan.