STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries Confirm Major New France Investment

STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries announced plans on Monday to build a multibillion-euro semiconductor factory in France with government funding, the latest project to boost output in the region. The announcement comes as President Emmanuel Macron prepares to announce $6.7 billion in investment from major global corporations at this week's Choose France summit.

The United States and the European Union have pushed for domestic chip factories by offering billions in state subsidies in order to reduce reliance on Asian suppliers and alleviate a global chip shortage that has caused havoc for automakers. This facility, which will be located next to STM's existing facility in Crolles, is expected to be fully operational by 2026, with a capacity of up to 620,000 wafers per year of production at a size of 18 nanometers, the statement said.

These are used in automotive, IoT, and mobile applications. The companies did not reveal how much money would be invested at the new site near the Italian and Swiss borders, or how much funding would be provided by the French government.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the total investment would be around $5.7 billion, while Le Figaro reported earlier that it would be nearly 4 billion euros ($4.06 billion). A spokesperson for GlobalFoundries declined to comment.

The new factory would create approximately 1,000 new jobs while also assisting STMicro in exceeding its revenue target of $20 billion.