Why Micron Needs to Build in Boise!

From humble beginnings, Boise-based Micron is expanding its influence in a big way. The company is the third-largest private employer in the Gem State. Micron announced in a media release that it would spend $150 billion globally.

The money will be spent to continue manufacturing the latest technology in memory chips and research and development. Micron has expressed an interest in possibly building more facilities in our country. The company has built significant facilities in Virginia and Taiwan recently.  

Two years ago, Micron became the largest outside/foreign employer in Taiwan. The A3 plant was the most advanced chip-making plant in the world at that time. You can read about it here.  Micron expanded a facility in Virginia thanks to the Virginia legislature's massive bucket of tax incentives. The company spent three billion dollars to update that facility. You can read about the details here.  

Could Micron expand its Boise Headquarters? Idaho's pro-business government would do everything it could to secure a more significant Micron presence in Idaho. Micron has had a roller-coaster ride on its road to recovery. Years ago, the company had to lay off a large number of people during the great recession. The stock price tanked during that time but is now in full recovery. Micron is the only American-based chip manufacturer. The Chinese tried to buy Micron a few years ago, but our government and the company rejected the deal. 

Micron's perseverance survived possible bankruptcy due to the amount of competition in the chip industry. Micron survived to become what it is today, a global leader in chip manufacturing and technology.  

"Memory is at the leading edge of semiconductor manufacturing and fuels everything from feature-rich 5G smartphones to the AI-enabled cloud," said Micron President and Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Mehrotra. "Micron's leadership in both DRAM and NAND technologies and the strength of our roadmap enable us to invest more than $150 billion with confidence to extend our industry-leading memory innovation into the next decade and deliver differentiated products to our customers. We look forward to working with governments around the world, including in the U.S. where CHIPS funding and the FABS Act would open the door to new industry investments, as we consider sites to support future expansion." 

Micron is expanding to Japan, reports Reuters.  The company will spend seven billion dollars on a new facility there. Dave Petso tells us this announcement is to spur the U.S. House to approve a chip production in America, reports the Wall Street Journal.    The bill with a price tag of fifty-two billion dollars has been approved by the Senate hasn't been voted on in the House.  

Micron should use some of their one hundred and fifty billion dollar to reinvest in our community.  Without the local commitment Boise leaders gave to Micron, the company wouldn't be thriving as it is today.