Intel postpones completion of its US chip factory once more.
1min read Intel Corp. has delayed the timeline for completing two new manufacturing plants in Ohio, the United States, according to industry insiders, which has shaken confidence in the US chip industry.
Intel said in a statement that the first of the two plants planned in Albany, New York, would be completed in 2030, two years later than originally planned, and would start operations before 2031, and the second plant would be completed in 2031 and start operations in 2032, as the company takes a cautious approach to the $28bn project.
Naga Chandrashekar, general manager of Intel's foundry manufacturing business, said in a message to employees: "We want to align the production of the fabs with our business needs and the broader market demand. We will continue to build at a slower pace while maintaining flexibility to accelerate work and start operations when customer demand permits."
Intel announced the project in January 2022 and started construction eight months later. The first plant has been delayed due to financial issues, the chief executive's departure last December and other problems.
Intel's net loss for the full year of 2024 reached $18.8bn, compared with its peers in the chip industry, TSMC and Samsung, which have fared better. intel has also lagged behind its competitors in the AI wave, as Nvidia has almost monopolised the market for chips that run AI systems.
The former US president's administration last year announced incentives under the chip incentive programme to reward Intel for moving semiconductor production to the US. At least $1.5bn of the funding would be used for the Albany project, according to the US commerce department. But it is unlikely to change Intel's predicament. Intel said at the end of last year that it would delay plans to build two large chip manufacturing plants in Germany and Poland due to lower-than-expected demand.
The Economist reported that the US, which leads the world in the design of AI chips, is struggling to manufacture chips in the US, and is unable to break its reliance on TSMC.
Intel's plans to build fabs in four US states for $100bn have been repeatedly delayed. Samsung, which invested $37bn in a semiconductor plant in Texas, has also delayed the start of its new plant to some point next year. In addition, industry insiders are concerned that the Trump administration's tariffs and re-examination of subsidies promised under the US chip act will put pressure on all investment enterprises in the US, adding more uncertainty to the development of the US chip industry.