Israel: Israel’s government has granted Intel Corp $3.2 billion for a new $25 billion chip plant, which it plans to build in southern Israel.
The agreement between Israel and Intel represents a significant gesture of support from a major US corporation and a kind offer from the Israeli government at a time when Washington, Israel’s largest ally, is putting more pressure on Tel Aviv to take additional action to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.
The chipmaker committed to purchasing goods and services worth 60 billion shekels ($16.6 billion) from Israeli suppliers over the next ten years in addition to the grant, representing 12.8 percent of the total investment. The new facility is anticipated to provide several thousand jobs.
The deal was made public by Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, in June 2023. The PM hailed the decision to construct a new chip plant as “unprecedented” and stated that “this is the largest investment ever in the State of Israel.”
In Israel, Intel runs four development and production facilities, one of which is a manufacturing facility in Kiryat Gat, which is located 26 miles (42 km) from the Gaza Strip.
In addition to the company’s ongoing and planned manufacturing investments in Europe and the US, Intel said in a statement that the expansion plan for the Kiryat Gat site is an “important part of Intel’s efforts to foster a more resilient global supply chain.”
About 12,000 people are directly employed by the plant, which makes Intel 7 technology, or 10-nanometer chips, and 42,000 more are indirectly employed.
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