2024-09-17 14:06 update: 2024-09-17, 14:09
Photo: PAP/EPA.
Intel is suspending its plans to build semiconductor plants in Poland and Germany until 2026, owing to the deteriorating financial situation of the company on a global scale, the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs announced on Monday evening.
Pat Gelsinger, Intel's CEO, communicated the company's decision in a conversation with Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski, explaining that the move was necessitated by the deteriorating financial condition of the firm.
In February, the Ministry of Digital Affairs notified the European Commission (EC), the EU's executive arm, about Poland's plans to give public aid to Intel's investment, in compliance with EU's regulation on public aid. On September 13, Gawkowski announced that the EC had given the green light to Intel's investment in Poland. The value of Poland's aid was projected to reach over PLN 7.4 billion (EUR 1.9 bln) in the years 2024–2026.
In its announcement on Monday, the Ministry of Digital Affairs stated that Poland was prepared to support additional semiconductor investments in the upcoming months and intended to use its recent experience collaborating with the European Commission to execute such projects effectively in the future.
In June 2023, Intel announced plans to invest USD 4.6 billion in the construction of a semiconductor integration and testing plant in Miekinia, near Wroclaw in southwestern Poland. This initiative was expected to create 2,000 direct jobs, along with numerous additional employment opportunities among the suppliers and during the construction phase of the plant.
Intel said at that time that the new Polish plant, along with the company's existing facility in Ireland and the one planned for Germany, would be part of Europe's first such comprehensive and most sophisticated semiconductor supply chain.
"Entry into semiconductor manufacturing (...) means becoming a member of an elite group of countries who make them. There are only a few such countries in the world," the then head of Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) Pawel Kurtasz commented on Intel's decision in June. He added that the plant would be manufacturing finished products rather than components.
Asked about when the new plant would become operational, Kurtasz said that the investor, aided by PAIH, would need to obtain EU approval, followed by two years to complete the construction.
In late July, the Puls Biznesu newspaper, citing Bloomberg, reported that Intel intended to lay off thousands of employees to reduce costs and finance ambitious measures to rebound after a fall in profits and market share.
When asked about any potential implications the news had for the Polish plant, Marcin Graczyk, the spokesman for PAIH, said that PAIH did not consider it to be a threat to Intel's plans for Poland. "We have good, ongoing contact with the investor and do not see any changes to their plans," he told PAP at that time. (PAP)
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