Although talks of an expansion at the Kiryat Gat plant have been rumored for weeks, May 1 marked the first time Intel officials met with a government representative to formally submit the request.
The government came under much criticism when the Kiryat Gat plant was planned and built in the late 1990s because it provided about $600,000 of the then-$1.6 billion cost.
Intel said at the time it would not build the plant, which produces the world’s thinnest microprocessors, without the government assistance.
Last year, Intel exported $583 million worth of goods, despite only officially opening the Kiryat Gat factory in June. It did not reach full capacity until a couple of months later.
The Kiryat Gat factory is the only Intel factory outside the United States producing these chips; the others are in Oregon, New Mexico and Arizona.
Intel executives said that the further investment would lead to an additional $2 billion per year in exports and 2,000 to 3,000 more jobs.
Today, Intel’s Kiryat Gat plant employs about 1,600 engineers and technicians, while another nearly 2,000 industrial maintenance workers, bus drivers, security guards, catering staff and assorted other service employees work at Intel for the company’s contractors and suppliers.
Intel made its first investment in Israel in 1974 and has since opened manufacturing plants, a design and development center and a networking facility in the country.
The firm’s request marks the second time in two months the government has been approached by foreign chip companies looking for help in building a chip factory.
In March, Toshiba Corp., the world’s No. 1 notebook-computer maker, and Tower Semiconductor Ltd. asked for aid in building a $1.5 billion plant in Migdal Ha’Emek.