Intel Corp plans to spend US$7 billion upgrading its US factories over the next two years, a sign that the recession hasn’t extinguished chipmakers’ lust for cutting-edge equipment.
The company’s investment, announced on Tuesday by Intel CEO Paul Otellini at a speech in Washington, speaks to the semiconductor industry’s need to keep investing heavily, regardless of the poor economic climate that has led Intel to cut jobs.
The investment could be a boon to firms that produce chip-making equipment, like Applied Materials Inc and KLA-Tencor Corp, and is another example of how Intel’s deep pockets have kept rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) at bay.
PHOTO: EPA/INTEL
AMD, having lost nearly US$7 billion over the past two years, wants to break off its factories into a separate company to unload debt and save money. A shareholder vote was scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed until next week because only 42 percent of investors had voted. AMD needed at least half to go forward.
Intel is struggling with the worst PC market in years. Overall semiconductor sales fell last year for the first time in seven years, slipping about 3 percent to US$249 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.
Yet Intel says its latest investment is the most it has ever spent on a transition to new manufacturing technology.
It said the US$7 billion would pay for new machinery at factories in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico, which will be outfitted to produce chips based on 32-nanometer technology.
But Intel’s investment doesn’t necessarily mean lots of new jobs will be created. he money will pay the salaries of about 7,000 “high-wage, high-skill” jobs that already exist at those plants.
The investment comes as Intel is cutting up to 6,000 manufacturing jobs by closing plants in Malaysia and the Philippines and stopping production at facilities in Oregon and California.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: MOFA demanded Beijing stop its military intimidation and ‘irrational behavior’ that endanger peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region The Presidential Office yesterday called on China to stop all “provocative acts,” saying ongoing Chinese military activity in the nearby waters of Taiwan was a “blatant disruption” of the “status quo” of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Defense officials said they have detected Chinese ships since Monday, both off Taiwan and farther out along the first island chain. They described the formations as two walls designed to demonstrate that the waters belong to China. The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the nation over the past 24 hours, as well
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