Intel CEO Cites Brexit as Reason for Chip Fab Plans in UK Not an Option

In an interview with the BBC, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the company is no longer considering the UK as a site for a chip fab, due to Brexit, something the company had apparently done prior to Brexit. Now the company is looking for a location in another EU country for a US$95 billion investment for a new semiconductor plant, as well as upgrades to its current plants in Ireland.

Although Intel had not made any firm decisions on a site location prior to Brexit, Gelsinger is quoted as saying “I have no idea whether we would have had a superior site from the UK, but we now have about 70 proposals for sites across Europe from maybe 10 different countries.” He continues “We’re hopeful that we’ll get to agreement on a site, as well as support from the EU… before the end of this year.”

Gelsinger also talked about the current chip production imbalance in the world, pointing out that the US only produces some 12 percent of the world’s semiconductors, whereas Samsung and TSMC combined, account for nearly 70 percent of the global supply. As such, Intel, as well as US and European politicians want to see a shift towards more locally produced semiconductors. Much of this is in the name of national security, but then you’d expect there to be a push for a lot more things to be produced locally in addition to just semiconductors.

There’s no doubt that Intel’s new-ish CEO likes to make bold statements, as he’s quoted saying “This is an industry that we created in the US, Intel’s the company that puts silicon into Silicon Valley,” when asked if Intel can maintain its leading edge versus its Asian competitors. In all fairness, he continues “But we realise these are good companies, they’re well capitalised, they’re investing, they’re innovating together. So we have to re-earn that right of unquestioned leadership.”

In the same interview, he states that he’s not expecting the current chip shortage to stabilise until 2023, although things should apparently improve come next year. In other words, expect a lot of soft packages from Santa this year and maybe even next year.