According to media reports the Italian government is drawing up an offer to entice the company to set up an advanced chipmaking plant in Italy, while Dresden in Germany has emerged as the frontrunner for a new megafactory planned by the US chip giant.
However, none of these of these decisions are cut and dried.
These potential moves form part of Intel’s strategy to develop cutting-edge manufacturing capacity in Europe as it looks to avoid future supply shortages which have, over the past year, had such a serious impact on industry.
The investment in Italy could initially be worth $4.7bn and create over 1000 jobs for what would be an ‘advanced packaging’ plant. Potential sites include Turin and Catania in Sicily, where STMicroelectronics already operates.
A number of alternatives are available to Intel. France is seen as a possible contender for the megafactory, while Italy appears to be facing competition from Poland, where Intel already has a presence, for the packaging facility.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is set to announce the locations of two major new EU chip fabrication plants by year-end as it looks to spend billions of euros on the continent.
It'll be interesting to see where those investments end up.
