back to article Germany to subsidize Intel €10B for 'Silicon Junction' fab

Intel has agreed a deal with the German government for €10 billion ($10.9 billion) in subsidies for a new chip plant in the country, despite Germany's finance minister saying just last week that it would not offer more cash. The news comes hard on the heels of a new fab in Israel plus a facility in Poland for the company. The …

  1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Will the US tariff Intel ?

    If they are receiving state aid in Europe

  2. demon driver

    If nowadays value-creating factories are only established if the community finances them...

    ... to a large extent, then the old rule that the economic operating system privatises profits and socialises losses reaches a new level, because now it is just normal costs that are being socialised, not some unexpected losses from some exceptional situation.

    I'm curious to know whether the employees in that shiny new German fab will also have to bring money in order to be allowed to work there.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: If nowadays value-creating factories are only established if the community finances them...

      >I'm curious to know whether the employees in that shiny new German fab will also have to bring money in order to be allowed to work there.

      Not in Germany, but in certain capitalist countries you would have had to spend >$100K to prove you can work there

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: If nowadays value-creating factories are only established if the community finances them...

      Apart from the fact that each "job" created will cost about € 1 million, water is going to be a real problem. Chip factories require lots of water and Saxony-Anhalt has had a drought for years. What do you do when the choice becomes water to drink or for the factory up the road?

      1. codejunky Silver badge

        Re: If nowadays value-creating factories are only established if the community finances them...

        @Charlie Clark

        "What do you do when the choice becomes water to drink or for the factory up the road?"

        There could also be power problems as they have backed themselves into a bit of a corner going green and anti-nuclear at the same time. What will manufacturing Germany do when they cant keep the energy flowing?

        1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

          Re: If nowadays value-creating factories are only established if the community finances them...

          Power isn't going to be a problem there. Saxony-Anhalt, like much of northern Germany, has loads of renewable capacity so marginal requirements on cold dark days and nights shouldn't really be an issue. But water most definitely is. Need to fix the pricing on that asap because, at the moment, people dig wells to avoid paying for water treatment… classic tragedy of the commons, though probably not quite as tragic as the one heading southern Spain's way once the aquifer is deleted.

  3. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

    Europe needs to nationalise silicon manufacturing. Its not safe to let corporations rule what will be tomorrows super weapon.

    1. codejunky Silver badge

      @CowHorseFrog

      "Europe needs to nationalise silicon manufacturing. Its not safe to let corporations rule what will be tomorrows super weapon."

      Thats a guaranteed way to stall progress, cause shortages and inflate the costs. And I dont think silicon is much of a super weapon. The world hid from a virus not a chip.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Trollface

        Re: @CowHorseFrog

        "The world hid from a virus not a chip."

        Virus? You mean 5G activated implant chip don't you, WWG1WGA?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @CowHorseFrog.

      You are totally right. The "super weapon" being what companies, as the U.K. is finding out, will be demanding for further "economic incentives". Because if they don't get them, they will leave. The amount of money they were bribed them with to "invest" in whichever country, will pale into insignificance compared with the amount of money they will demand to "incentivise" them to stay.

      There is a reason why the U.S. government is not threatening sanctions because... subsidies for United States companies are sanction exempt.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Chip factory sold in china

  5. Justthefacts Silver badge

    Well that was quick….

    From 6bn to 10bn down the tubes, before even a single PowerPoint architecture slide has been made. By the time the PowerPoint has been done, Germany will find it has committed 15bn. Then to secure the order for the bricks, it will have to sign up to spending 20bn……

  6. Zolko Silver badge

    Infineon

    Why doesn't the German government subsidize a German company (Infineon for example) rather than a US one ? Did they get orders from "the Big Guy" ?

    After the North Stream sabotage and the German government's silence about it, Germany's vassalhood to its US overlord is becoming a real problem for the rest of Europe. Lucky for the UK to have jumped ship (so they don't have to fight over who's more submitted to their master)

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Infineon

      >Why doesn't the German government subsidize a German company (Infineon for example) rather than a US one

      You are aware that different companies make different types of chip ?

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