Status: 09.02.2023 2:12 p.m
According to media reports, the US chip manufacturer Intel is demanding significantly higher subsidies for the planned construction of the chip factory in Saxony-Anhalt. Reason are increased construction and energy prices.
The chip company Intel is apparently pushing for significantly higher government funding for the planned construction of a new chip factory in Magdeburg. Instead of the promised 6.8 billion euros, Intel now needs 10 billion euros, the dpa news agency and the “Handelsblatt” report, citing government circles.
According to the reports, the federal government considers the requested sum to be difficult to imagine, but the talks are still ongoing. Officially, the economics ministries in the federal government and in Saxony-Anhalt and the company itself did not want to confirm a demand for higher subsidies.
Group refers to “cost gap”
At the request of MDR An Intel spokesman said a lot had changed since the company announced its plans to build a new semiconductor factory site in Germany in early 2022: “The challenges at the geopolitical level have grown, demand for semiconductors has fallen and the pressure inflation and recession are challenging the global economy.”
The US company said it was working closely with government partners to “close the key cost gap to make this project competitive worldwide.”
Specifically, the Intel spokesman referred to increased costs for energy and logistics as well as construction costs. These have risen significantly due to general inflation and the conditions on the market. According to dpa, the company also wants to use newer technology than originally planned in order to be more competitive.
A computer graphic shows what the chip factory planned for Magdeburg by the US company Intel should look like.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Intel Corpo
“Europe must keep up”
Intel announced last spring that the group intends to produce chips of the latest generation in Magdeburg from 2027. In a first expansion stage, two semiconductor factories are to be built, which could create several thousand jobs. So far, there has been talk of an investment of 17 billion euros.
The federal government had promised state funding of 6.8 billion euros – subject to a change in the EU state aid rules. This is expected for the summer of 2023.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics Minister Sven Schulze (CDU) referred to the MDR on the economic importance of the Intel settlement for the whole of Europe. “It’s about the fact that not only Germany, but Europe has to keep up,” said Schulze. The “substantial investments” in the chip sector continue to flow in the United States and Asia, which is why the EU urgently needs to catch up.
Intel writes losses
The US chip manufacturer was recently hit hard by the shrinking PC business. Intel posted a loss of $664 million in the past quarter. The prospects for the company also remain bleak for the time being.
In the PC chip business, the manufacturer’s sales fell by more than a third. The sales figures for the corresponding computers had recently declined more than ever before.