Biden touts $100B semiconductor facility as historic investment

Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Speaking in Syracuse, N.Y., on Thursday, President Joe Biden highlighted the plan by Micron Technology Inc. to build a $100 billion semiconductor facility, calling it one of the most significant investments in American history.

"Making these chips in America will help lower the costs for for families looking to buy a car, a new washing machine, or replace your cell phone," Biden said.

In August, Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which provides $52 billion in grants and subsidies for companies to build and expand computer chip factories in the country.

On Oct. 4, Micron announced it would spend up to $100 billion to build a semiconductor fabrication facility in New York, taking advantage of benefits from recently passed legislation that encourages companies to make computer chips in the United States.

The company said its "megafab" will increase the domestic supply of leading-edge memory and nearly 50,000 New York jobs, including approximately 9,000 high-paying Micron jobs.

"This historic leading-edge memory megafab in central New York will deliver benefits beyond the semiconductor industry by strengthening U.S. technology leadership, as well as economic and national security, driving American innovation and competitiveness for decades to come," Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a statement.

Micron said the plant will represent the largest private investment in New York state history, and will be erected in Onondaga County not far from Syracuse University.

The company said it will design, build and operate the facility in accordance with its sustainability goals. The site eventually could include four 600,000-square-foot cleanrooms, for a total of 2.4 million square feet of cleanroom space -- the size of about 40 football fields.

After touting the benefits of Micron's investment, Biden also made his pitch to voters. The president said that Republicans would shut down the government and default on the country's debt if he did not agree to cut Social Security and Medicare.

"There is nothing that would create more chaos or do more damage to the American economy than that," Biden said.