Oregon officials with direct knowledge of the conversations told the Oregonian that a positive decision from Microchip could bring substantial new investment and hundreds of new jobs – as many as 650 – while extending the site’s future for decades.
The Oregonian later obtained a letter to Governor Kate Brown, signed by four state lawmakers, urging the governor to act by the first of November to allocate USD 17.5 million from three state funds to support Oregon’s position.
“The expansion will make an extraordinary difference in Gresham, East Multnomah County, in Oregon, and in national chip production,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter. “We want to see Oregon workers help fix our global supply chain issues.”
The company has according to the report previously stated that it plans to spend up to USD 5 billion over the course of several years to construct a new fab – however, the location is still undecided. The fab would use 300mm silicon wafers.
Evertiq has reached out to Microchip for a comment.