What to know about Intel, the semiconductor company getting billions to expand in Arizona
Chandler’s economy benefits greatly from the presence of Intel, a company that creates the bulk of the city’s jobs and generates massive amounts of financial activity.
Intel is the world’s second-largest producer of semiconductor chips, which are basically tiny brains that help power everything from cellphones to air conditioners.
The company will receive up to $8.5 billion in federal grants as part of a preliminary agreement to be announced by President Joe Biden and U.S. Commerce Department officials during a visit to Arizona on Wednesday.
The funding, designed to rebuild America's technological leadership in semiconductors, could be spread among multiple Intel projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon, with Arizona receiving one of the largest commitments. It stems from the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
Intel, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, currently ranks as Arizona's 11th-largest nongovernmental employer, with 13,000 employees as of last year's Repubic 100 special report.
It set up shop in Chandler in 1980 and the city is now home to Intel’s only two large-scale facilities in Arizona. The company generates nearly $9 billion in statewide economic impact each year.
The company also is spending $20 billion to expand one of its Chandler facilities. It will make the local campus Intel’s largest manufacturing complex anywhere on earth at a time when the world needs a secure supply of chips more than ever.
The Arizona Republic looked into some of the most asked questions about Intel’s operation in Chandler. Here’s what to know.
What does Intel do in Chandler?
The company’s two main facilities in Chandler are called the Ocotillo campus and the Chandler campus.
The Chandler facility has a broader purpose. Employees there work on everything from Intel’s “autonomous vehicle” efforts to its semiconductor packaging technology to research and development.
The Ocotillo campus is almost exclusively focused on manufacturing semiconductors.
How big is Intel in Chandler?
The Ocotillo site is massive. It’s made up of more than a dozen buildings and occupies roughly 700 acres in southwest Chandler.
In terms of its importance to the city, Intel is second to none. It’s Chandler’s “leading employer,” according to city spokesperson Stephanie Romero.
Staffers have also said Intel’s multibillion-dollar expansion was one of the major reasons Chandler’s revenue increased by 20% this year. That cash helped Chandler pay off its public safety pension debt earlier than expected.
How many employees work at Intel in Chandler?
Intel employs 13,000 regular employees. That figure is expected to be closer to 16,000 once its expansion is complete.
It also created about 8,000 temporary construction jobs as part of its expansion efforts.
What jobs are available at Intel’s Chandler locations?
Intel often has hundreds of open positions listed on its website. The jobs range from business analyst jobs to roles for communications interns.
Intel’s Chandler construction: What is the company building?
The expansion is taking place at the Ocotillo campus. It includes the construction of two new factories, Fabs 52 and 62, which will be finished and fully operational sometime in 2024. Intel started work on the project in late 2021.
The company is spending $20 billion on the effort. It’s the largest private investment in Arizona’s history and brings the amount of cash that Intel has spent in the state up to roughly $50 billion.
Over the next five years, Intel expects to invest more than $100 billion in the U.S. as it expands capacity in Arizona and the other three states, with an estimated creation of more than 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs.
The proposed $8.5 billion federal grant, along with Intel's own funding plans, would mark one of the largest-ever semiconductor manufacturing investments.
The proposal calls for the construction of two new leading-edge logic fabs and modernization of one existing fab at Intel's Chandler campus. That will significantly increase leading-edge capacity, including high-volume domestic production of Intel 18A, the company’s most advanced chip design. The company plans to produce the first 18A product, called Clearwater Forest, in Arizona.
The proposal also calls for about $50 million to develop the company's semiconductor and construction workforces.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Intel in Arizona: What to know about its 2 campuses, planned expansion
