Globalfoundries, a US-based chip manufacturer, is reportedly expanding its factory in Dresden, Germany. According to industry sources, the company will invest 1.1 billion euros in the Saxon state capital over the next few years, as reported by the German business daily Handelsblatt. The German federal government is expected to support the expansion with hundreds of millions of euros, although the exact amount is still to be confirmed.
The project’s start has been approved by the federal government, as confirmed by Oliver Schenk, a CDU member of the European Parliament, who stated that the government gave the green light to the project’s commencement on the previous Friday. This enables Globalfoundries to begin essential project measures, such as ordering and purchasing key machinery, even before the final funding approval.
Representatives of Globalfoundries and the Federal Ministry of Economics declined to comment on the expansion plans in response to the publication’s inquiry. The company has been operating the largest chip factory in Europe in Dresden for a quarter of a century, according to its own statements. Globalfoundries has been in a long-standing dispute with the Ministry of Economics over subsidies, citing a perceived disadvantage compared to its competitor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which received 5 billion euros in state subsidies for a new plant in Dresden.