GlobalFoundries has been awarded $1.5 billion by the US government under the CHIPS and Science Act to subsidize the company’s future semiconductor production capabilities.
The chipmaker is also set to receive an additional $600 million from the state of New York over the next decade under its Green Chips program which will be spent on expanding the company’s Malta campus in the state.
In a statement, GlobalFoundries said the combined financial support will be used to support three projects: expanding the company’s existing Malta fab by adding 'critical' technologies that are already being produced in its Singapore and German facilities; constructing a new fab on the Malta campus for the production of chips for automotive, aerospace, defense and AI; and modernizing the company’s Trusted 200mm facility in Essex Junction, Vermont, creating the first US facility capable of high-volume manufacturing of next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors.
To meet market demands, the company said it plans to invest more than $12bn over the next decade across its two US sites through both public-private partnerships and government support, creating over 1,500 manufacturing jobs and about 9,000 construction jobs during the lifetime of the projects.
To help build a semiconductor talent pipeline, GlobalFoundries also recently announced a student loan repayment program to help current and new employees pay down their student loan debt. Under the terms of the program, US-based workers who meet eligibility guidelines will be able to receive a tax-free, lifetime total of $28,500 toward their student debt.
Furthermore, as a condition of receiving CHIPS and Science Act funding, GlobalFoundries has pledged to invest in additional workforce programs such as curriculum development, internship and apprenticeship programs, and STEM outreach in schools.
“[These proposed investments] will... play an important role in making the US semiconductor ecosystem more globally competitive and resilient [cementing] the New York Capital Region as a global semiconductor hub,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GlobalFoundries. “With new onshore capacity and technology on the horizon, as an industry we now need to turn our attention to increasing the demand for US-made chips, and to growing our talented US semiconductor workforce.”
The $280bn CHIPS and Science Act, was approved by Congress in July 2022, with $52bn of the overall funding package designated as subsidies for US semiconductor manufacturers. Funding from the act has also been earmarked for semiconductor R&D, growing a skilled semiconductor workforce, and incentives for the manufacturing of semiconductors and specialized tooling equipment.
In January 2024, Microcontroller manufacturer Microchip Technology was awarded $162 million in funding from the US CHIPS and Science Act to modernize and expand its fabs in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Gresham, Oregon.
