Intel is postponing a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate its planned $20 billion chip manufacturing plant in Ohio. That’s because a package meant to bolster investment in the American semiconductor industry has stalled in Congress.
The delay signals Intel’s frustration with lawmakers’ lack of action on $52 billion in funding. The company says the impasse will impact its U.S. expansion, notes Axios, citing a Wall Street Journal report.
The groundbreaking event had been tentatively slated for July 22. Intel told Ohio lawmakers on Wednesday it was pushing back the ceremony “due in part to uncertainty around the chips legislation,” according to the WSJ.
However, the company has not delayed actual construction, Axios reports. When Intel announced the project earlier this year, it said the “scope and pace” of the expansion depended heavily on funding from Congress from the CHIPS Act. The legislation, now known as the Bipartisan Innovation Act, includes $52 billion in funding for domestic manufacturing.
“Unfortunately, CHIPS Act funding has moved more slowly than we expected and we still don’t know when it will get done,” an Intel spokesperson stated. “It is time for Congress to act so we can move forward at the speed and scale we have long envisioned for Ohio and our other projects to help restore U.S. semiconductor manufacturing leadership and build a more resilient semiconductor supply chain.”
What Happens Next
Lawmakers are working toward a compromise on House and Senate versions of the legislation as the August recess draws near. “Every day we waste by not passing the CHIPS Act funding is another day we fall further behind in our competition with China,” Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), said in a statement to Axios.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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