New York State Approves $1.2 Billion in Incentives to AMD’s New Foundry Company for Fab 4X

AMD’s plans to create The Foundry Company out of its manufacturing operations and money from the UAE are one step closer to fruition. A condition of the deal was that the same $1.2 billion incentive package offered to AMD, towards the construction of a new semiconductor fab in Saratoga County, be made available to the new company. The Empire State Development Corporation and the Public Authorities Control Board both voted unanimously to approve the transfer of the incentives originally offered to AMD.

The ESD postponed voting on November 24th while terms of the deal with the new company were ironed out, but approved the agreement shortly thereafter at a special meeting on December 1st. The $650 million grant part of the grant and tax subsidy incentive package also required the approval of the State PACB, which was granted December 17th.

With federal money going by the dozens or hundreds of billions under bailouts, with unclear benefits to taxpayers, it looks like New York just made a pretty solid deal. Fab 4X will employ about 1600 in the construction industry while it is being built. Construction begins early next year and will go on for over two years. Fab 4X, it is expected, will cost about $4.6 billion when everything is said and done.

Fab 4X will begin producing in 2011 or ’12 with 32nm process technologies, employing at least 1205 people full time by the beginning of 2014. 1465 people could be working at Fab 4X by the end of that year. The plant is also designed to smoothly update to 22nm production, down the road.

An economic impact study prepared by ESC Company predicts an extra 550 people will be working in direct relation with Fab 4X (security, cleaning, delivery, etc). Those 2000 people working at the Fab need to drive, eat, sleep, shop, and so on, and the study predicts another 4500 of these indirect jobs.