GlobalFoundries has 14 locations on three continents, but effective immediately, its home base will be its site in Malta.
"When we broke ground on this massive building, I said for the last 150 years, Saratoga was known for potato chips, but the next 150 will be known for computer chips," U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
It’s big news for Saratoga County, as the tech industry continues growing in the Capital Region. Among top priorities: The manufacturing of semiconductor chips.
Those microchips are in everything from cars to cellphones, and only about 12% of the world’s production is made in the U.S.
"You need two things to be successful — you need demand and you need supply," said Tom Caulfield, CEO of GlobalFoundries. "Well, there’s plenty of demand in this country. Fifty percent of the industry is headquartered here. Now, we need to create the supply."
To help with the effort, Schumer is pushing for $50 billion to fund incentives, as well as the passage of the Endless Frontiers Act. Paired together, he says the U.S. will be on better footing to compete against China and other overseas manufacturers.
"China has a leg up in funding, not in the quality of the research at this point, but if they keep funding, the Chinese government keeps funding this kind of pure and applied research to the tune they are and we do nothing, they will get ahead of us in the next decade," Schumer said.
Schumer says he expects to bring the bills to the floor in mid-May.
GlobalFoundries is moving its headquarters to Malta and @SenSchumer wants funding to invest in semiconductor manufacturing.
— Jaclyn Cangro (@JaclynCangro) April 26, 2021
Last week, I did a story about the semiconductor shortage and the problems it's created.https://t.co/9B8kckFrhJ