GlobalFoundries to Build New Fab in Upstate NY

GlobalFoundries (GF) will expand its manufacturing capacity with an advanced facility to be built in upstate New York over the next few years, the company said. The plans include immediate investments to address the global chip shortage at its existing Fab 8 facility, in Malta, N.Y., as well as construction of a new fab on the same campus that is expected to double the site's capacity.

The company will invest $1 billion to immediately add an additional 150,000 wafers per year within its existing fab to help address the global ship shortage. The new fab will create more than 1000 jobs (total, direct and indirect). Following the successful investment model of Fab 8, GF is planning to fund the new facility through private-public partnerships including customers and federal and state investments. This new capacity will serve the growing demand for secure, feature-rich chips needed by high-growth markets including automotive, 5G connectivity, and the IoT. The facility will also support national security requirements for a secure supply chain.

The investments to expand the company’s U.S. manufacturing footprint are part of the company’s broader global expansion plans, which include the recently announced new fab in Singapore and $1 billion in planned investment to expand in Germany. Recently, Intel was rumored to be in talks to acquire the company. GlobalFoundries CEO Thomas Caulfield has denied the likelihood of such an acquisition, however.