back to article Intel chief pens congratulatory letter to President-elect Biden urging work on immigration and domestic manufacturing

Intel CEO Bob Swan has penned an open letter to President-elect Joe Biden congratulating him on his win, and urging his incoming administration to continue investment in domestic semiconductor manufacturing. "Rising costs and foreign government subsidies to national champions are a significant disadvantage for US semiconductor …

  1. charlieboywoof
    Coat

    This wont age well

  2. bleedinglibertarian

    vomit

    bbblllllaaaaacchhh!

    just gross

  3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    Dear Mr Trump/Biden (delete where applicable)

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      We need a national state funding of the glorious people's semiconductor industry - otherwise we let the commies win.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    We produce the most complex technology on the planet...

    I read a while ago that dinosaur nests were really complex too.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      The trouble with complex is that when it gets beyond certain limits nobody can understand it well enough which raises the spectre of undesirable side effects.

      1. sgp

        Spectre

        I see what you did there.

  5. StrangerHereMyself Silver badge

    Stop it

    Cheap Indian bods are not the solution. Investing more in American education and paying higher salaries to existing workers are.

    I find it distasteful that companies are vying for more immigrants from India which are undercutting American workers.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Stop it

      Intel founded by an immigrant, AMD run by an immigrant

      1. Khaptain Silver badge

        Re: Stop it

        Obama started building a wall, Trump continued to extend it. Biden wants to knock it down..

        You're free to choose who did the right thing.....

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: Stop it

          But only Trump's wall succeeded in keeping out semiconductor engineers

        2. Claverhouse

          Re: Stop it

          Joe Biden once spoke about jailing employers who hire "illegals," said sanctuary cities shouldn't be allowed to violate federal law, and argued a fence was needed stop "tons" of drugs coming into the country from "corrupt Mexico." 2008

          https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/10/politics/kfile-biden-drugs-fence-2006/index.html

          .

          Joe was for a wall --- as was Hillary, who began the building of a Great Wall --- before he was against it, which was connected to Donald being for it; and he has promised not to take down a piece of that already up.

          https://text.npr.org/899266045

          .

          Joe wasn't just about doubling the number of death penalty offences and shoving black predators in prison as everyone thinks ! He reformed the banking industry de-regulating the hell out of it and by making personal bankruptcy for people owing banks money more difficult, and supports the RIAA to protect modern youth from Napster.

          1. sabroni Silver badge

            Re: Stop it

            He's a politician. That i can deal with.

            Continued support for a petulant child who ignored a pandemic because it made him look bad. That's the bit that fucking baffles me.

            1. Khaptain Silver badge

              Re: Stop it

              "Continued support for a petulant child who ignored a pandemic because it made him look bad. That's the bit that fucking baffles me."

              Do you mean Biden or Trump ?

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Stop it

          The "Wall" is a fake substitute for the required balance of work visas and sanctions against "illegal employers" - nothing more revolutionary than what Canada already does - employers must pay for seasonal workers transport, housing, and health insurance, and face serious sanction for employing outside the rules. Long term immigrant employees require appropriate long term visas, and have a continuous legal path to citizenship.

          What's required on and around the border are (not a wall but) factories that can hybridize US capabilities with cheaper Mexican labour to create world exportable products. Out of every US dollar spent on Mexican imports, 40 cents comes back to purchase US goods in Mexico. The figure is about 5 cents for US dollars spent on Chinese imports.

          Trump presidency started off by bashing Mexico as a villian (easy) instead of introspection as to why US industry could not partner with Mexico to create exportable products (much harder). Now we have a stillborn FOXCONN plant in Wisconsin because it was easy to do in the short run and made for good publicity.

      2. Someone Else Silver badge

        Re: Stop it

        Intel founded by an immigrant, AMD run by an immigrant

        And neither were H1B's

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Stop it

          Exactly, reduce the period of indentured servitude from 5/10 years to 6 months and see how many H1B's are still "required".

        2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: Stop it

          >And neither were H1B's

          No, one was a refugee from an oppressive regime the other was a baby immigrant from a 3rd world country

      3. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Unhappy

        Re: Stop it

        nobody said there was anything wrong with immigrants nor immigration.

        The problem is the use of H1B visas and similar kinds of immigration for the EXPLICIT purpose of "watering down" the pool of available employees such that wages are artificially DEPRESSED, particularly in regions of the U.S. where *EXPENSES* are artificially INFLATED. So while living expenses in the region of Silicon Valley would be INCREASING, the potential INFLUX of people [which makes rents go up, i.e. more people, less housing] who are willing to work for LOWER wages, causes OVERALL wages to DECREASE for everyone else, and existing employees are stuck in their jobs without raises and without other jobs to move into [or get laid off and replaced], unable to keep up with rising costs of living in one of the MOST expensive regions of the USA.

        Did THAT explain the problem, here? Intel OBVIOUSLY wants something _LIKE_ this.

        (if they want to reduce costs they could open up an office in Alabama or New Mexico or some other place where it costs WAY less to live, and people would WILLINGLY work for less when they end up with MORE disposable income after making those "much lower" cost of living payments every month)

    2. Lars
      Happy

      Re: Stop it

      I very much agree with "investing more in American education", you simply have to, or you are going down the drain, and that journey I am afraid started years ago.

      This vid is worth checking.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7lO0TlwUZw

      (The Real Story Behind Skyrocketing Student Debt)

      But education is not a short term solution nor can one expect companies to wait for that.

      Regarding "cheap Indian bods undercutting American workers" I feel is a rather cheap explanation, and not enough to explain the reality.

      1. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Meh

        Re: Stop it

        education as in STEM - yes.

        education as in "indoctrination" - no.

        I wonder how much "unaffordable" student loan debt has been accumulated for "fill in the blank" studies and "liberal arts" majors... when STEM and/or 'school of business' classes would get you an actual JOB.

        So a qualified agreement with you, that proper STEM education as early as 1st grade and kindergarten would be a HUGE help in making any population "employable" in the future, and eliminate the excuse that some employers have used when justifying over-use of H1B visa hiring to depress wages...

    3. Binraider Silver badge

      Re: Stop it

      Seconded. American Education is why you have a 52/48% vote split despite one of the two choices being globally despised, undiplomatic figurehead.

      Ironically, elements of Republican policy I do appreciate; protectionism from the race-to-the-bottom; (allegedly) bringing manufacturing jobs back into home territory instead of being reliant on imports.

      Silicon manufacturing I suspect is a losing battle to bring back to the West because you can run your production plant cheaper in Malaysia, Taiwan or China.

      You might have better success in investing in other industries; energy being a particularly obvious one; to stop haemmorraging cash to the middle east on oil while developing new, skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs at home. (One of Biden's key objectives if I'm not mistaken).

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Stop it

        Are low paid workers really a driver for where you build a 5nm fab?

        We work with the people who build the fabs and they are in the NL

        1. Binraider Silver badge

          Re: Stop it

          No, but I suspect cheap energy is a driver for where you put your fab; and the US does not have cheap energy!

          1. bombastic bob Silver badge
            Unhappy

            Re: Stop it

            don't forget environmental restrictions, cost of new construction [especially bureaucracy]. and TAXES.

            those are HUGE "drivers" for where you put your factory. And last I checked, wafer fabrication uses a LOT of very dangerous materials...

  6. six_tymes

    he stole the election and people cheer him on... that's proof society in the US is lost. becoming as corrupt as any other corrupt nation. sad to see.

    1. cookieMonster Silver badge

      Are you talking about Trump or the new president?

    2. DS999 Silver badge

      Only a moron believes the election was stolen from Trump. He's lost every single court case over the election because they have presented zero proof of fraud because you can't provide proof of something that didn't happen. As a result Rudy and his minions are getting laughed out of every court they visit. The only "proof" exists in extreme right wing media where fact checking isn't done, and people like you are dumb enough to believe the lies you are fed.

      Trump is looking so hard for a "win" in court that he declared a summary dismissal yesterday as a win because it means it can be appealed to the Supreme Court more quickly. He's really going to be pissed when he finds out the Supreme Court decides which cases they will hear, and there's no way they're going to hear a case where there were no facts provided and therefore nothing to dispute about the lower court's ruling.

      Trying to have hundreds of thousands of legally cast ballots thrown out without a shred of evidence would be "stealing the election". Trying to have state legislators overrule the vote of their citizens to send Trump electors to the Electoral College would be "stealing the election". These both things Trump has/is trying - and fortunately failing miserably at!

      There is already talk that him bringing in those Michigan legislators to try to talk them into overriding the vote is a federal crime he'll be charged for when he is dragged out of the White House kicking and screaming on the 20th of January. At least I hope he'll have to be dragged out, it would make for great TV!

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
        Black Helicopters

        At least I hope he'll have to be dragged out, it would make for great TV!

        The President Gets Evicted From The White House - The President Show

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53nyFuGdlEk

        icon: Marine One

      2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
        Joke

        At least I hope he'll have to be dragged out, it would make for great TV!

        On the day, Ant and Dec will host a special edition of "I'm a Celebrity..." from the White House

        "I'm a Celebrity ex-President, Get Me Out Of Here!"

      3. veti Silver badge

        Presumably his last act in office will be to pardon himself for everything he's ever done, so "federal crimes" are neither here nor there.

        Yes, he can do that. Most presidents do it, to pay back various favours, and although they don't normally include themselves on the list there's nothing to prevent it.

      4. Mike Moyle

        "At least I hope he'll have to be dragged out, it would make for great TV!"

        Finally, he'll get those "highest ratings EVER seen" that he's always wishing for!

    3. bleedinglibertarian

      up vote

      totally agree. fakenews cnn, google, abc, and the rest can spout their lies and hate all they want but you don't suddenly get 40k votes amazingly after sending Trumps team away.

      should call it the united states of venezuala. bunch of crap!

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: up vote

        Can we revoke the treasonous colonial's license to use English ?

      2. Lars
        Happy

        Re: up vote

        "don't suddenly get 40k votes amazingly after sending Trumps team away."

        Yes, you don't, nor did it happen.

    4. Potemkine! Silver badge

      In democracies, when someone gets more votes than his/her opponent, he/she's elected. I know it doesn't happen each time in the US, but nobody who is serious considers the US as a model of democracy. I understand you are disappointed that your rigged system of yours didn't ensure once again the (far-) rightwinged candidate to win despite losing the popular vote, and this despite the many efforts of the GOP to suppress voters, but it's time for you for a reality check.

      1. Peter2 Silver badge

        Few democracies operates purely on a "total number of votes" system, ie proportional representation.

        Both the US and Britain run on varients of the first past the post system, where winning one area gets you that seat so it is possible to get odd numbers while not winning that many seats.

        For instance in Britains election in 2015 1.1 million people voted for the greens; they got one seat. 1.4 million voted for the SNP; they got 56 seats. 3.8 million voted UKIP; who also got 1 seat.

        If we switched to a system where the total number of voters across the country was all that mattered then the elections would consist of metropolitan parties offering bread and circuses in roughly the form of saying "we'll pay for free public transport in the cities out of national taxation and spend nothing on rural areas if you vote for us, and there will not nothing the rural types can do about it"

        Which political theroists are well aware of, which is why no democracy anywhere in the world is setup that way.

        1. Lars
          Mushroom

          "Few democracies operates purely on a "total number of votes" system, ie proportional representation."

          Wrong Wrong.

          MOST democracies operates purely on a "total number of votes" system, ie proportional representation.

          Most democracies do not have a two party system or a first past the post or an electoral college.

          That could all be called the "English Disease" forced upon, or adopted by some unlucky countries.

          And the result of that disease is so damned well visible to day in the two countries most severly hit by it in recent years.

          Sick people who don't know they are sick tend to stay sick.

          1. Binraider Silver badge

            No idea why the downvotes. FPTP is only used in three countries, US, Canada and UK. All three suffer from two party-systems and a lack of choice. MMPR is the way forward.

  7. cjcox

    TL;DR

    Dear President Elect Biden,

    We really need to exploit some cheap foreign slave labor. Won't you help us?

  8. Korev Silver badge
    Joke

    Intel CEO Bob Swan has penned an open letter to President-elect Joe Biden congratulating him on his win, and urging his incoming administration to continue investment in domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

    "Preferably at 7nm as we can't seem to do it ourselves..."

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      >"Preferably at 7nm as we can't seem to do it ourselves..."

      We need small immigrants, teeny-tiny immigrants.

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Trump has small hands. He'll be looking for a job soon - preferably something that pays around $400million

        1. Tom 7

          Thats till about till the heatdeath of the universe at prison pay rates.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    That letter in full...

    Dear Trumo-Biden

    Tim Cook smells of wee!!!!! He says his chips are smaller and better than ours but he’s a big grey liar and it’s not fair Apple have made better chips than we did and it’s not fair and Tim Cook smells of wee and I know I have an iPhone but urrrgh! Urrgh!!! Poo! bum!!!!!!!! and and we make processors and it’s not fair that Apple do and theirs are smaller and faster and put him in jail. Put him in jail! Or I will hold my breath until I am sick!!!!. And I want to employ lots of cheap people so I can buy another big boat. Bigger than Tim Cooks boat and he smells of wee. Tim pee-face Cook!!!!! Why are they faster, mom? Why mom?

    Lots of love,

    Bob.

    Ps I voted for you even though mom said you were a poo face.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: That letter in full...

      ps. We have the biggest chips, the biggest most powerful chips, no other chips use as much power as our chips - so ner-ner-ne-ner-ner Apple

  10. luis river

    AMD on correct way.

    Intel CEO Bob Swan has penned an open and "love" letter to President-elect Joe Biden. The Intel situation is difficult, Bob think than political can help them for turn on more black number sales, AMD believe in superior tech shall be sufficient for market dominance, that is the difference !!!

  11. nautica Silver badge
    Boffin

    A far less 'wordy' account of the entire article--

    So, in a nut-shell...Intel is directly copying a page from Boeing's play-book.

    Take-away: when a technology firm finds that technology is hard, which it is, technology--by engineers--is abandoned, for politics and cost-cutting--which is easy for MBAs and lawyers. No pesky engineers needed.

  12. nautica Silver badge
    Stop

    For all you people who want to know the 737 Max 'secret handshake(s)'...

    From a current post on The Register--

    "Boeing 737 Max will return to flight after software updates, says EU's aviation regulator"

    https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2020/11/25/easa_737_max_return/

    ..."Remember, these are the Max aircraft concerned, 737-7, 737-8 and 737-9 (RYANAIR BADGING = 737-8200) and the equivalent International Air Transport Association codes are B37M, B38M and B39M"

    Three notes:

    1) I have given Ryanair special emphasis because it is well deserved;

    2) Do not, under any set of circumstances, consider this information as permanent. There is NO doubt that Boeing, Ryanair, and untold others will work very hard to make it very hard for you to avoid being informed when you will be forced to fly on a 737 Max; and

    3) Once more, the 737 Max codes are--

    737-7, 737-8, 737-9;

    737-8200 (RYANAIR)

    B37M, B38M, B39M (ATA--Air Transport Association--codes)

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