Schumer pitches Intel CEO on Upstate for new semiconductor fab

The office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) says the lawmaker has pitched Intel Corp.’s recently-appointed CEO Pat Gelsinger on how the tech company should locate a semiconductor fabrication (fab) plant in upstate New York.

Last week, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) shared its plans to select a second site for its next U.S. manufacturing facility “within a year,” following the announcement of a research and development (R&D) partnership with IBM (NYSE: IBM), which is headquartered in Armonk in Westchester County.

The partnership between Intel and IBM will bring hundreds of new semiconductor R&D jobs to New York’s Capital Region, Schumer’s office said.

Schumer said New York has several sites across Upstate “ready to be home” to Intel’s next chip fab — or the supply chain Intel would require. The sites include the White Pine Commerce Park property in Clay; the Marcy Nanocenter in the Mohawk Valley; the STAMP campus in Western New York; and Luther Forest in the Capitol Region, per a news release from Schumer’s office.

“Intel’s plans to invest in a second U.S. semiconductor fab offers a game-changing opportunity for Upstate New York and I made it clear to Intel all that New York has to offer to make their U.S. expansion a huge success for the company and the country,” said Schumer. “With an existing semiconductor ecosystem, including leading R&D companies, premier universities to train the next-generation workforce, a thriving supply chain, and robust utilities that can host advanced manufacturing, Upstate New York is tailor made to be the home of Intel’s new manufacturing facility.”