Schumer pitches Micron president on locating a future plant in Upstate

Micron Technology is thinking about locations for a future plant and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) hopes the firm will choose upstate New York for such a plant.

Schumer in May met with Sanjay Mehrotra, president and CEO of Micron Technology, to pitch the company on several sites that are ready for a new Micron facility, his office said in a news release.

The sites include the White Pines campus in Clay and the Marcy Nanocenter near Utica. Schumer also mentioned the STAMP campus in Western New York and Luther Forest in the Capitol Region.

Micron is the only manufacturer of semiconductor memory and storage products in the U.S. and the world’s 4th largest semiconductor company. Employing more than 40,000 people in 17 countries, Micron is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, where it operates one of the “world’s most advanced” research and development (R&D) centers and has a “strong” U.S. manufacturing presence in Manassas, Virginia, per Schumer’s office.

As new federal incentives are under consideration, Schumer’s office said Micron is evaluating opportunities to “strengthen” the company’s manufacturing and R&D footprint.

“Micron’s interest in exploring options to expand its footprint in the U.S., and potentially in [upstate New York], is exciting news for the entire state and country. I made it clear to Micron that I strongly support locating a cutting-edge memory fab at one of the several shovel-ready sites across New York and reiterated that [upstate New York’s] robust semiconductor industry makes it the perfect place for Micron to settle,” Schumer said. “Our world-class manufacturing workforce combined with New York’s considerable experience in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D means the state is revving and ready to welcome a new facility. I stand ready to help Micron harness all that the federal government has to offer for the U.S. to continue to lead the semiconductor industry and cement New York as a global hub for high-tech manufacturing.”

Schumer pointed out, the U.S. has gone from producing 24 percent of the world’s semiconductors in 2000, to just 12 percent. By comparison, China has gone from producing zero chips to 16 percent of the world’s supply. The production change is because the U.S. is “not matching the investments that other competing nations are making” in order to land new job-creating semiconductor chip fabs, per the Democrat’s office.

Schumer’s legislation — the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act — would provide federal incentives to semiconductor fabs in the U.S., “helping to reverse the trend of foreign-made semiconductors and level the playing field” for companies like Micron to build new fabs in the U.S., per the news release.

The senator announced the measure during an April 26 appearance at Syracuse University.