Update: Why Micron chose Central New York, explained
Semiconductor manufacturer Micron announced plans today to build a microchip plant in Clay, investing $100 billion in Onondaga County over the next two decades.
The Boise-based company will build a chip plant at White Pine Commerce Park in Clay, executives said in news release sent by Gov. Kathy Hochul along with Sen. Chuck Schumer and County Executive Ryan McMahon. Officials are holding a press conference this morning at Syracuse University.
The company will initially invest $48 billion in White Pine Commerce Park.
The investment could create 9,000 jobs at Micron and 40,000 jobs in the community at large.
In an interview with Central Current earlier this year, McMahon predicted an investment from a semiconductor manufacturer could create 25,000 jobs in the community and draw 50,000 to 100,000 residents to the area.
Over the last several years, representatives at all levels of government have prepped the area for the investment. The county purchased land in Clay to expand White Pine to more than 1,200 acres. It prepped the site to get utilities like electricity and water to the site.
Tax incentives at both the state and federal level likely made the investment more attractive.
Congress passed the CHIPS Act in July of this year, creating $52 billion in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturers. The state Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul passed the Green CHIPS program in early August. It granted semiconductors $10 billion in tax credits.
The road to luring a semiconductor manufacturer to Onondaga County has been bumpy. In August, the Austin American-Statesman and Albany Times-Union reported that Micron had applied for a tax break in Texas. Micron denied that its application indicated it chose a site in an emailed statement.
Micron then put an expansion semiconductor plant in Boise.
Semiconductor manufacturers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, passed over White Pine several times in the past.
Micron landing at the site in Clay closes a three-year search for a tenant at White Pine Commerce Park.
