Intel to build new $5 billion Plant in Chandler (Phoenix, Mesa: 2013, job market)

[azriverfan.]

Intel announces it will build the worlds' most advanced semiconductor factory in the world. It will employ 1000 new workers and will open in 2013.



New $5 billion Intel facility planned for Chandler

[Bondurant]

Good news. I hope some of the factory positions will be for the "unskilled".

[kdog]

Congratulations Phoenix! This is huge in so many ways. And let their be no mistake. Intel has absolutely no allegiance to Phoenix; they are beholden to their stockholders and no one else. This is pure business. But, politics aside, climate aside, congestion, immigration, economy and any other perceived problems that folks complain about were factored in and measured against the rest of the planet, and Intel chose Phoenix to locate their newest flagship chip fab. That says a LOT and bodes very well for Phoenix in general.

Originally Posted by Bondurant

Good news. I hope some of the factory positions will be for the "unskilled".

Oh there will be plenty of unskilled jobs in security, cafeteria workers, janitorial. landscape, shipping, drivers, secretarial, etc, etc. Not to mention the trickle-down effect on the various local businesses. But even better are the jobs where they'll select local unskilled workers and train them to be fab operators who will make excellent salaries and have a career for life. It's just a good deal for the city all the way around.

[RCR]

Originally Posted by kdog

Oh there will be plenty of unskilled jobs in security, cafeteria workers, janitorial. landscape, shipping, drivers, secretarial, etc, etc. Not to mention the trickle-down effect on the various local businesses. But even better are the jobs where they'll select local unskilled workers and train them to be fab operators who will make excellent salaries and have a career for life. It's just a good deal for the city all the way around.

Sorry, but the fab environment has become so automated that the entire factory can be run from outside the fab with a handful of people. There are no more "operators" inside the fab. Those who do work in the fab are highly skilled technicians who maintain and repair the equipment. It still is great news for the area.

[observer53]

One thousand jobs, as reported. Still sounds good. And, of course there's the economic boost of building the plant, which helps, too.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by RCR

Sorry, but the fab environment has become so automated that the entire factory can be run from outside the fab with a handful of people. There are no more "operators" inside the fab. Those who do work in the fab are highly skilled technicians who maintain and repair the equipment. It still is great news for the area.

Really? Intel says it's going to take 1,000 employees to run the plant.

From the article:

"When the facility opens in 2013, about 1,000 people will be needed to run an operation that Intel executives suggest will be the most advanced high-volume semiconductor-manufacturing facility in the world."

Guess what? They're NOT all highly skilled machine repair technicians.

[HX_Guy]

And, on top of that, First Solar is considering building a sun-panel factory in Mesa that would employ 600...

Tempe's First Solar considering Mesa for site of sun-panel factory

[kdog]

As a follow-on to my comment about fab operators, here's a quote from an article on a new fab being built in NY which will have 1400 workers: "Nearly two-thirds of GlobalFoundries employees will be wafer fab techs.
Read more: GlobalFoundries: With chip fab, opportunities aren’t limited to the techies | The Business Review " (Notice the title of that article, btw.)

So that's 900 fab techs in what is also a new fab being built. That's a pretty big "handful". Using that ratio, it's safe to assume the Intel plant will have on the order of 660 fab techs.

[PHXtoPDX]

While RCR is correct that Intel is automated to the hilt and there is almost no handling of wafers (already true with the 300mm wafers they use at fab 32 in Chandler, even moreso for the 450mm wafers this new fab will use), Intel still employs a very large number of operators to handle things like test wafers and non-routine tasks called for by engineers.

One thing I'm worried about is that for many years, Intel has been in the practice of hiring temp workers, then replacing them after a year, mostly to avoid having to pay benefits. It has become more and more difficult to get hired on there with benefits at the operator level. Another worrisome factor is that they've also been heavily exploiting the rampant degree inflation in the job market. Over the course of '09 I watched as the minimum requirements for operator positions rose from a HS diploma to a Bachelor's degree. It is absurd, because of the aforementioned automation, these positions are actually a lot lower skill than those at other companies in the industry. They're clearly doing it simply because they can.

Don't want to sound too doom and gloom though. This is a truly awesome turn of events for the Phoenix area. I was already happy when I heard about their expansion and ramp up of fab 32, but this is so much better. A brand new fab can easily have a lifetime of 10+ years. That is, it'll be likely providing jobs better than the typical $8-9 hour stuff you find all over the valley for a decade or more to come! Having a major player around also often has the benefit of attracting smaller companies to the area.

I left because things were looking pretty grim for this industry back in '09. Both ON semiconductor and my former employer announced fab closures, and there hadn't been any new construction for a considerable amount of time. I applaud Intel for reaffirming its commitment to Chandler!

[kdog]

Good post from someone who obviously has the inside track on Intel.

Regarding the degree thing, given the number of recent grads that can't find jobs, can you blame Intel for tapping into that pool? Operators need to be trained, and a person with a degree shows an ability to learn. Plus, Intel appears to have a great track record of promoting employees, and an employee with a degree has a lot more upward mobility than one without.