Intel Won’t Disclose Terms of $1.3B in Cash Incentives to Build Ohio Fabs

Intel “will defer specific details to our local partners” in Ohio, emailed an Intel spokesperson Friday when asked about the performance-based commitments the chipmaker made to accept Ohio's offer of $1.29 billion in direct cash incentives to build two advanced-node semiconductor fabs for $20 billion on a 1,000-acre campus just east of Columbus (see 2201280047). “We expect the total value of incentives will be consistent with the nature and magnitude of the project, and with incentive packages available from other competitive states,” said the spokesperson. “The incentives will include investment and training grants, tax credits and exemptions available to entities with large projects, as well as infrastructure improvements that will benefit others in the region beyond Intel.” (We haven't asked Intel about the nature of the incentives, just what Intel had agreed to as the conditions for them.) The chipmaker's initial investment of "at least $20B, and our potential investment of up to $100B over the next decade, will have a major positive impact on Ohio and its residents,” said the spokesperson. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said Jan. 21 that the Licking County, Ohio, site can accommodate up to eight semiconductor fabs, of which Intel was announcing just the first two. The Ohio Department of Development said in a briefing Friday that the incentives offered to Intel include $600 million in cash grants directly payable to the company for defraying the 20%-30% higher incremental costs of building the fabs in the U.S., compared with the costs of building them in Asia, plus $691 million for local infrastructure upgrades and a new water reclamation facility. Intel also would qualify for $650 million in job creation tax credits over 30 years, said the department. Most of the incentive terms in the offer are performance-based, but the department wouldn't identify the performance criteria or how it will benchmark Intel's performance against those parameters.