Samsung announced that it is coming close to reaching a final decision in choosing the location to construct its $17 billion semiconductor factory in Williamson County in the U.S. state of Texas.
The information was provided by Reuters, who was informed by the South Korean tech itself of its continuous due diligence in multiple locations, and that it has yet to make a decision.
This latest factory will be producing advanced logic semiconductor chips and is set to create about 1,800 jobs. However, no final decision has been made for the final location about the company’s new manufacturing fab. But, the Austin suburb of Williamson County is indeed the frontrunner due to the subsidies on offer as well as the likelihood of stable sources of electricity and water.
During the first quarter, a winter storm shut down at Samsung’s existing chip plant in Austin caused the equivalent of 300 billion to 400 billion won ($254 million to $339 million) of damage to wafer production. And this shutdown came when the world was and is facing a silicon chip shortage crisis.
Samsung previously said it would start construction on the new 6-million-square-foot (557,418-sq-meter) plant in January, with production up and running by the end of 2024. This is a step for Samsung towards becoming a key player in eradicating the world from Semiconductor shortage.
“With the United States turning semiconductors into a strategic material, it is becoming a risk to be concentrated only in Asia. Samsung wants to be on the ground in the U.S.”
