Rumors continue to swirl regarding the future of Intel Corp., after the company has been beleaguered by financial woes. The latest has Intel delaying its New Albany, Ohio, semiconductor fabs even further to perhaps even next decade.
According to a report from Reuters, the first factory from the $28 billion investment is now expected to be completed by 2030 with operations then starting shortly thereafter. This puts the fab delayed by at least half a decade from the original timeline.
Another report said that it is possible the delays are the result of stalled CHIPS and Science Act funding and uncertainty over proposed tariffs posed by the Trump Administration in the U.S. Intel was to receive about $7.86 billion in subsidies from the CHIPS Act and it has so far only received $2.2 billion.
In August 2024, Intel initially stated that it would delay the first foundry to 2026 with a 2028 operation date. Intel is also delaying its fab projects in Magdeburg, Germany, after it and the Saxony-Anhalt state in Germany agreed to halt all spending and revisit the topic of the fabs in two years. Intel may have also paused its investment plans in France and Italy.
Turmoil
From rumors about the outright sale of the company, spinning off or selling off its foundry business to mergers with competitors like Arm or AMD, the company’s future is swirling as it looks to right the ship and its product lines.
The company also may be in final talks to spin off its depth-sensing division, RealSense, into a standalone company and Altera, Intel’s FPGA division, is likely about to be sold to a number of suitors.
These cost-cutting measures were made after Intel laid off about 15% of its workforce, its CEO Pat Gelsinger retired due to the financial issues and the company planned to reduce all operating expenses for the next two years.
