The grant to the memory chipmaker is the latest federal award aimed at boosting U.S. chip manufacturing.
The Biden administration will give Micron up to $6.1 billion in grants to help build its semiconductor plants in New York and Idaho, the latest multibillion dollar award aimed at ramping up the nation’s production of vital semiconductors.
Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, announced the grant on Thursday and said the “monumental” investment would help the company construct two new chip manufacturing plants in New York by the end of the decade, along with another plant under construction in Idaho.
More than a year ago, Micron announced plans to expand its manufacturing footprint in the United States. In September 2022, the company said it would build a $15 billion factory in its hometown, Boise, Idaho, the first new U.S. memory chip plant in 20 years. A month later, Micron said it would build a giant manufacturing complex near Syracuse, N.Y., pledging to start with a $20 billion project by the end of the decade and spending as much as $100 billion over the next two decades or more. The complex could eventually include up to four new manufacturing plants.
A senior Biden administration official confirmed the award and said it would help create thousands of jobs. Company officials have said the investment is expected to create roughly 50,000 jobs, including about 9,000 direct positions at its plants.
The announcement is the latest award from federal officials to chipmakers in recent weeks. The funding stems from the CHIPS Act, which a bipartisan group of lawmakers passed in 2022 to re-establish the United States as leader in the production of semiconductors, the foundational components that power everything from phones and supercomputers to cars and weapons systems. Equipped with $39 billion, the Commerce Department has distributed several grants to chip manufacturers as an incentive for them to build and expand facilities in the United States.
The initiative is intended to strengthen the domestic supply of semiconductors. Although semiconductors were invented in America, manufacturing has largely shifted overseas. Only about 10 percent of the world’s semiconductors are currently made in the United States.