Intel to invest €12 billion in Kildare site as part of EU plan

Intel will invest €12 billion in Leixlip site as part of EU plan to set out the path for increased semiconductor manufacturing in the European Union. The announcement is the largest pan-European investment programme in the history of the company. There are manufacturing, as well as research and development, investment plans for Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland that will help create the next generation of semiconductor ecosystem in Europe.

Intel plans to build multiple leading-edge manufacturing sites in Europe. On the same former stud farm site that Intel selected for its first European manufacturing base in the late 1980s, Intel are completing construction of their latest manufacturing expansion – Fab 34.

The manufacturing capacity available in Ireland will double and will deliver Intel 4 technology to a continent hungry for local production of leading-edge semiconductor technology.

In March last year Intel Ireland confirmed that €5 billion was invested in its construction between 2019 and 2021.CEO Pat Gelsinger today confirmed that a further €12 billion will be invested in Fab 34 between now and the end of 2023. This brings the total investment in Fab 34 to €17 billion and the tech giants total investment in Ireland to more than €30 billion.

The building of Fab 34 has supported more than 5,000 construction jobs over the past three years and provided a very welcome boost for a broad range of suppliers, contractors and transport operators at a time when the effects of COVID 19 were impacting so many aspects of the Irish economy.

The new facility will also add 1,600 new Intel roles at Leixlip, bringing Intel's total direct employment in Ireland to more than 6,500 people. Furthermore, an analysis by PwC shows that, once this latest phase of construction is complete, Intel's presence in Ireland will contribute €2.75 billion to the economy annually.

These plans come as the EU seeks to double its share of global microchip production over the next decade, Intel and Ireland are positioned in the vanguard of that strategic campaign.