Micron buys Clay property to provide on-site employee daycare

CLAY, N.Y. — Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) on Wednesday said it bought a parcel of land on Caughdenoy Road in the town of Clay that will be developed to provide on-site daycare for Micron employees.

In addition, Micron also announced funding for the Early Childhood Career Pathways Program, administered by Childcare Solutions and PEACE Inc.

April Arnzen, senior VP and chief people officer at Micron, joined Gov. Kathy Hochul at the North Area YMCA at 4775 Wetzel Road in the town of Clay for the announcements.

Boise, Idaho–based Micron Technology on Oct. 4, 2022 announced plans to invest $100 billion to build a semiconductor-manufacturing campus at the White Pine Commerce Park in Clay, a public-private partnership that will bring up to 50,000 jobs to Central New York.

Wednesday’s announcements are part of Micron’s child-care commitments, Hochul’s office said. The Caughdenoy Road property purchase is part of the agreement between Micron and New York State, the firm added.

The Early Childhood Career Pathways Program is focused on expanding and enabling family home child-care centers, benefitting the providers themselves, many of whom are women and minorities, by increasing the number of home child-care centers. This helps to “ensure stability and quality in an important child-care service channel,” per Hochul’s office.

“Early in my career, I made the difficult decision to quit my job because our family didn’t have access to childcare — a difficult choice no parent in New York should be forced into,” Hochul said in a release. “Achieving that goal requires innovative policy solutions like our Green CHIPS Act, nation-leading economic development legislation that requires semiconductor manufacturers to commit to bringing affordable, reliable childcare for the communities where these businesses put down roots. Micron has done incredible work living up to their end of the deal, including through a $500 million community fund, and I’m excited to see this child-care facility move forward in Central New York.”

Since announcing its planned campus in Central New York, Micron says it has made “significant” investments in childcare that will benefit Central New York families. Late last year, Micron pledged $500,000 to the YMCA of Central New York to help expand access to high-quality childcare and early learning for underserved communities in the region.

To date, $250,000 has been spent in early-childhood education, impacting nearly 2,000 kids in the region. The remaining $250,000 will be devoted to childcare for children up to five years old.