The U.S. Said It'd Give Billions to Chipmakers Like Intel. Now Come the Layoffs

[In It to Win It]

https://sports.yahoo.com/u-said-d-billions-chipmakers-210702824.html

When a group of semiconductor companies, including Intel Corp., lobbied Congress to pass the $52 billion chip-stimulus bill earlier this year—one of the biggest federal investments in a private industry—they argued in part that the subsidies and tax breaks would protect American jobs.

But now just months before the funding applications open, the nation’s largest semiconductor company is reportedly planning a major reduction in its workforce—yet could still receive billions in federal subsidies. Thousands of Intel employees are expected to be laid off later this month to cut costs amid a steep decline in demand for PC processors, according to Bloomberg. Some divisions, including sales and marketing, could lose 20% of their staff.

Some members of Congress raised these exact concerns during the negotiation process, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who described the program as a “corporate giveaway.”

“Over the last 20 years, the microchip industry has shut down over 780 manufacturing plants in the United States and eliminated 150,000 American jobs while moving most of its production overseas after receiving over $9.5 billion in government subsidies and loans,” Sanders said in July, before the Senate voted in favor of the bill. “In order to make more profits, these companies took government money and used it to ship good-paying jobs abroad.”

[enough]

1. The American Way.

[ancianita]

11. It's the Big Corps siphoning of American labor and taxes way, not the American way.

Big Corps is an anti-American, anti-human. And that's not just on the tech or oil or defense end.

On the political end...

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/this-sedition-is-brought-to-you-by/

[Faux pas]

2. That's

our money!

[edhopper]

3. Because the sales of PCs have declined

the real test is the new plants that will manufacture chips for other products that are now made overseas. If the overall manufacture of chips moves back to the US, the Bill is a success.

[oldsoftie]

18. and thats what we need. Especially chips for critical items.

Anything related to national security, and that covers a lot, should NOT be bought from China

[Emile]

4. I bet the ones screaming about socialism are pissed

at this wastefulness with our tax dollars!

[WA-03 Democrat]

7. This is pure BS

Joe does not have the ego nor fucks left to care about history. He is doing the part of trying to save democracy. Bernie Sanders ideas have been rejected twice now at the national level. Get behind Biden! He gets stuff done!

[mathematic]

6. Intel is losing to its competitors and CHIPS money hasn't been granted anybody yet

What is even this article? Mad at Intel for making bad products? CHIPS funding can go to any semiconductor company that builds in the US, not just Intel.

The CHIPS act, and any other industrial policy, is never a guarantee that any particular company will be competitive in the marketplace. Republicans were mad at Obama for Solyndra, despite that loss being a very small portion of the industrial policy in the American Recovery and Reinvestment act.

[reACTIONary]

9. +100 nt

[SunSeeker]

20. Exactly. nt

[jaxexpat]

8. You could tell it was a corporate giveaway.

It passed on a bipartisan vote and Bernie warned everyone ahead of time.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

10. I'm relieved that Joe Biden and the Democratic Party realize the importance of rescuing a

strategic dometic industry that is vital to our economy and our national security from failure.

Nice to have responsible adults making these decisions.

[Delmette2.0]

12. We pay to help them start up the production.

We help them move everything off shore. We help them on their taxes.

Then we still pay for their overpriced products.

The R's want to cut spending, so let's start here.
Stop subsidizing profitable companies.

[relayerbob]

13. Clearly, the author knows very little about the ups and downs of the IC business

Nor, how long it will take for the CHips act to actually make a difference.

He/she should probably stick to something closer to home. Like football.

[Orrex]

14. Doesn't this happen every time corporations are bailed out?

I mean, like, literally every time?

Why don't they ever make the bail-out or infusion or jump-start or whatever contingent upon maintaining the existing domestic workforce?

[Steve Canuck]

16. Exactly what I was thinking.

How come there isn't conditions for accepting the money? Conditions such as no lay offs for x amount of years.

[Orrex]

17. Or forfeiting executive bonuses and banning stock buy-backs for 10+ years?

[andym]

15. Very difficult to recession proof high tech: expect layoffs at other high techs in coming months

The one to watch for is Google, who has a large number of employees and is dependent on ad revenues.
The Fed is looking for a soft landing to control inflation, but increasingly looks to be erring on inducing a "mild" recession.

Biden's package to help chipmakers will help them move more jobs here involved in manufacturing long-term, but it doesn't guarantee a net increase in jobs especially in the short term. It's also unclear how it affects non-manufacturing jobs at a company like Intel.

[Warpy]

19. Intel has been behind the curve on EUV lithography

but they're slowly catching up. That means retooling a lot of their facilities. The CHIPS Act is giving the money to do the work so there is a fully domestic competitor to Tawan, even though TSMC has also been given $$ to start manufacturing here.

Layoffs don't always mean the C level executives are trying to goose the stock price. That wouldn't work in the currently deflating stock market, anyway. That scam only worked well while the market was hyperinflating with easy money from QE, reckless tax cuts for the rich, and stolen Covid relief money.