Intel is investing $8 billion to prep its American facilities for next-gen processing technology.
The hefty cash injection will fund deployment of the company’s 22-nanometer (nm) manufacturing process across several existing US factories, along with the construction of a new fab in Oregon.
The projects are expected to support 6,000-8,000 construction jobs and create approximately 800-1,000 new (permanent) high-tech positions.
“Today’s announcement reflects the next tranche of the continued advancement of Moore’s Law and a further commitment to invest in the future of Intel and America,” explained Intel CEO Paul Otellini.
“The most immediate impact of our multi-billion-dollar investment will be the thousands of jobs associated with building a new fab and upgrading four others, and the high-wage, high-tech manufacturing jobs that follow.”
According to Otellini, the PC industry continues to move at a rapid pace, with over 1 million units shipping per day.
“[So, these] upgraded fabs create the capacity for the continued growth of the PC market segment and additional computing markets [we are] addressing, such as mobile and embedded computing.
“[For example], our brand-new development fab in Oregon – to be called “D1X” – is scheduled for R&D startup in 2013. Upgrades are also planned for a total of four existing factories in Arizona (known as Fab 12 and Fab 32) and Oregon (known as D1C and D1D).”
It should be noted that Intel’s first 22nm microprocessors, codenamed “Ivy Bridge,” remain on track to begin production by late 2011.
