Micron to invest $15 billion on memory chip plant in Boise

By MATT OTT
AP Business Writer

Micron will invest $15 billion though the end of the decade on a new semiconductor plant in its hometown that the chipmaker said will create 17,000 American jobs.

Sanjay Mehrotra, president and CEO of Boise, Idaho-based Micron, said his company’s investment was made possible by last month’s passage of the CHIPS and Science ACT of 2022, a $280 billion bill aimed at bolstering U.S. competitiveness against China and avoiding another chip shortage like the one that derailed the auto and tech industries during the pandemic.

The CHIPS law sets aside $52 billion to bolster the semiconductor industry, which due to COVID-related supply chain constraints beginning in 2020, has struggled to manufacture the diminutive chips that power everything from smartphones to computers to automobiles.

“Our new leading-edge memory manufacturing fab will fuel U.S. technology leadership, ensuring a reliable domestic supply of semiconductors that is critical to economic and national security,” Mehrotra said.

Micron said locating the manufacturing plant at the company’s operational headquarter will improve efficiency and help get products to market faster.

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said the partnership will help the city’s economy grow and attract and diverse workforce.

“This is a once in a generation investment in Boise from a home-grown company that is critical to the economic vitality of our community, our state and our nation,” McLean wrote on Twitter.

McLean and Mehrotra last month attended President Biden’s bill signing ceremony for the CHIPS and Science Act. Idaho’s entire congressional delegation, all Republicans, voted against it.

Biden called the Micron announcement “another big win for America.”

Micron is one of Idaho’s largest employers. The company has several chip manufacturing plants around the world, including in Singapore and Taiwan.

Last week, the chipmaker Intel Corp. announced that it would break ground Sept. 9 on its planned $20 billion Ohio semiconductor facilities. The factories, known as fabs, are expected to open in 2025. President Biden is scheduled to attend the groundbreaking.

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Rebecca Boone contributed from Boise, Idaho.