The Silicon Valley company had been downsizing Oregon operations for many years. Photo by Mike Rogoway/The Oregonian
HP Inc. says it’s planning to bring some manufacturing jobs back to Oregon if it lands a share of the federal money Congress allocated last summer for the semiconductor industry.
“The CHIPS Act gives us an opportunity to look at ways we can bring back some of the investments we’ve made overseas and bring those back to Corvallis,” Tuan Tran, HP’s president of imaging and printing said at an event last month at the company’s campus there.
HP wants to bring its development, prototyping and manufacturing back under one roof, Tran said, if it can capture a share of the $52 billion the Commerce Department plans to begin allocating early next year.
“Thanks to that we will be able to continue to invest, expand our capabilities here,” said CEO Enrique Lores, who also attended the event.
Some Oregon economic development officials are pessimistic that the state will land a meaningful share of CHIPS Act funding, lamenting that Oregon hadn’t positioned itself soon enough to capitalize on the opportunity.
But U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who attended the Corvallis event, hailed HP’s plans as a symbol of Oregon’s opportunity and said he’s confident the state’s manufacturers can land significant funding if lawmakers move quickly on proposals to improve Oregon’s competitive position.
“Oregonians want their elected officials to get this done today. Don’t wait until 2023,” Wyden said in an interview Friday.
Gov. Kate Brown is readying a legislative package for lawmakers to consider on “day one” of their next session, which begins in late January. Proposals focus on increasing available industrial land, boosting tax incentives, streamlining environmental regulations and adding worker training.
Microchip Technology is contemplating a second factory at its Gresham site. The project would cost $3 billion to $5 billion and add several hundred jobs, but the company hasn’t decided whether to build in Oregon or somewhere else in the U.S.
Microchip CEO Ganesh Moorthy told Wall Street analysts last week that “The availability of grants, subsidies and other incentives will all be important considerations in our analysis and will also help determine the location and timing for the fab.”
Late last month, Wyden met with Moorthy and Microchip employees at the Gresham site and the senator said they discussed the expansion plans.
“I left very encouraged by the meeting,” Wyden said.
Legions of electronics manufacturers are positioning themselves for a share of the CHIPS Act money, and even at $52 billion it’s clear that demand for the federal subsidies will handily outpace supply. So it’s hard to gauge how HP or any other company will fare in its pursuit of funds.
HP declined to elaborate on how many jobs it might add in Corvallis and didn’t say how much it’s seeking in federal support. It doesn’t appear the company is contemplating a new Oregon factory, like Microchip.
Still, restoring some work to Corvallis would be a significant reversal for HP after years of cuts. (HP is also planning to move its Vancouver operations to a new campus in 2026. That decision predates the CHIPS Act.)
HP invented its inkjet printer in Corvallis and the site remains one of the Silicon Valley company’s leading research sites. But HP has steadily reduced its manufacturing footprint there over many years, both due to declines in its printer business and because it has shifted more production to Asia.
As recently as this fall, HP had been furloughing workers in its Corvallis printer supply factor amid falling demand.
Now, though, it appears HP envisions the federal money as an opportunity to reinvigorate its Oregon operations.
“HP Corvallis is home to some of the most cutting-edge MEMS (Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems) and Microfluidics R&D and manufacturing in the world,” the company said in a written statement. “It’s a hub of innovation for HP and we are committed to investing in our future.”
— Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | 503-294-7699 | twitter: @rogoway |
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