Intel to invest $7B in US-based, 32nm plants
updated 10:55 am EST, Tue February 10, 2009
Intel $7B plant investment
Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini on Tuesday announced the chipmaker will make its biggest ever investment for a manufacturing process for its 32 nanometer chips. The plan is to spend $7 billion on retrofitting existing production plants to build the new chips in the US over the next two years. The manufacturing plants due for the upgrade are based in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico and will create about 7,000 jobs across the three states.
The first 32nm chips will be codenamed Westmere and will initially appear in desktop and mobile systems. They will combine Intel’s Nehalem micro-architecture and integrate graphics into the processor. The Westmere chips will be available sometime in 2009, with other 32nm products arriving in 2010. It's not yet known what clock speeds and power consumption numbers the 32nm chips will draw, though the smaller manufacturing process usually allows for higher clock speeds or more complex processors without affecting power levels.
At an event in San Francisco on Tuesday, Intel will host the first public demonstration of a fully-functional device using the 32nm Westmere chip.
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Is there a technical reason why chip plants and other high-tech businesses can't be located in Ohio or Pennsylvania, etc., where manufacturing workers are laid off by the thousands?