Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that the state’s Licking County will be home to not one but two Intel semiconductor factories. Intel has agreed to invest more than $20 billion by 2025 to build the factories on a 926-acre site which will create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and benefit the state as a whole.
Ohio is already home to 140 businesses that supply Intel in one way or another, these businesses will benefit from the establishment of the two factories and could lead to further job creation.
The new factories will hire 3,000 people altogether with each earning an average of $135,000 per year (plus benefits). An additional 7,000 labourers will get work thanks to the construction of the factories as well as electricians, engineers, restaurant workers, as well as those working in healthcare, housing, and entertainment. Overall, the project will add $2.8 billion to the state’s annual gross product.
Commenting on the news, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said:
“The new factories we"ll build in Ohio are part of our strategy to increase semiconductor R&D and global manufacturing capacity and restore U.S. semi manufacturing leadership. We expect Intel Ohio will become one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing sites in the world over the next decade.”
Over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, many industries have felt keenly the pain caused when semiconductor production slows down. By boosting production in the United States, it will help the world lower reliance on South Korean and Chinese companies that produce the bulk of chips.