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Intel shelves plan to take over GlobalFoundries’ abandoned chip plant in Chengdu, sources say
- Intel’s proposed takeover of the abandoned joint venture factory in Chengdu was intended to fast-track the company’s expansion plans in China
- The deal could have revived one of the country’s major foreign-invested semiconductor projects
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US semiconductor giant Intel Corp was poised to expand its operations in China by taking over the abandoned joint venture factory of GlobalFoundries in the southwestern city of Chengdu, but that plan has been shelved, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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The deal, part of what the people described as “secret projects” inside Intel, could have revived one of China’s major foreign-invested semiconductor projects, for which the Chengdu government rolled out the red carpet in 2017.
The proposed takeover was put on hold around August 12, after a number of job positions at the site were opened for applications, according to a former Intel employee, who requested anonymity because the discussion was private.
Intel’s plan to ramp up its semiconductor production in Chengdu to help address the current global chip shortage had been rejected by the White House over security concerns, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday. The firm’s expanded production site was not identified in the report.
The US company declined to comment. It currently operates a chip fabrication plant in Dalian, a port city in northeast Liaoning province, that was opened in October 2010 and currently produces 60,000 wafers a month. It also has two assembly and test facilities in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.
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GlobalFoundries, which halted operations in Chengdu in May 2020, did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
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