Magdeburg aims to secure funding from alternative sources following Intel's refusal of investment
In a significant development for the high-tech industry in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, the Ferroelectric Memory Company (FMC) has emerged as a potential tenant for the site originally intended for Intel's large chip factory. Following Intel's withdrawal, FMC is negotiating to establish a chip factory on about 100 hectares of the site, aiming to produce low-power memory chips that would strengthen European technological sovereignty in system-critical memory.
The decision to pursue FMC comes after criticism over the nearly ten billion euros of subsidies initially allocated for the Intel project. Lydia Hüskens, the deputy of Minister-President Haseloff, emphasised the importance of diversifying the industrial park and building necessary infrastructure, rather than relying solely on Intel.
The city of Magdeburg is actively seeking to buy back the land initially sold to Intel to put it back on the international market for other interested companies. Early contacts have already been made with potential firms, although no specific companies besides FMC have been publicly named.
Despite Intel not definitively ruling out a return, the focus in Magdeburg is on attracting new tenants to maintain the site's potential as a major industrial and semiconductor hub. The new federal government also sees the need for incentives for more chip production and at least three new factories in Germany.
Meanwhile, in Dresden, new chip factories are under construction. The federal commissioner for Eastern Germany, Elisabeth Kaiser (SPD), expressed confidence that Eastern Germany would remain a significant location for semiconductor production. Minister-President Haseloff, however, found the setback for the Intel plans as a significant blow for Saxony-Anhalt and the European Union, but finds it positive that clarity has now been established.
In a related development, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is pursuing a cost-cutting course and is cutting jobs worldwide. Due to ongoing losses, Intel made a loss of 2.9 billion dollars in the last quarter, and the company's funds are tight. As a result, Intel has definitively cancelled its planned chip production project in Magdeburg, with an investment volume of 30 billion euros and 3,000 jobs. Previously allocated funds for the project have already been reallocated.
As Magdeburg looks to the future, the focus remains on attracting other high-tech companies to the site. The draft of the high-tech agenda of the black and red federal government speaks of incentives for more chip production in Germany. Elisabeth Kaiser, the federal commissioner for Eastern Germany, reiterated that Eastern Germany remains an important cluster for global semiconductor production, and the federal government's focus is on continuing its development.
Economic and social policy discussions in Magdeburg are focusing on attracting new technology companies, such as FMC, to the site originally intended for Intel's chip factory. This move aims to diversify the industrial park and strengthen European technological sovereignty in system-critical memory production.
