Syracuse, N.Y. — Micron Technology’s plans to build a massive complex of chip plants outside Syracuse are like nothing the region, state or nation have ever seen before, officials said today at a press conference to formally announce the project.
There are children who haven’t even been born yet who will work on the project in the future, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. She called the plans “stunning” in their scale and referred to them as “the investment of the century.”
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer repeatedly compared Micron’s potential to change the region and the state to the Erie Canal, which made Upstate New York a hub of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.
“Make no mistake about it. This is the future,” Schumer said during the press conference, which took place Tuesday morning at Syracuse University. “Too often, government and business are accused of short-term thinking. This is one of the most significant long-term investments made anywhere in America in decades.”
The numbers are staggering: $100 billion in investment over the next 20 years. A total of 9,000 jobs with Micron and another 40,000 with other businesses in the region as a direct result of the project.
The biggest single private sector investment in New York history. The biggest clean room space in the entire country. Billions in incentives and tax breaks.
Local employees at the plants will make an average of over $100,000 a year.
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The project will roll out in phases over decades. The first piece will be a $20 billion “mega-fab” that will employ 3,000 people. The site will begin production in the latter half of this decade.
Site preparation will begin next year, with construction starting in 2024.
Altogether, Micron plans to build up to four separate semiconductor fabrication plants at White Pine Commerce Park in Clay. The 1,300-acre site is located off Route 31.
The facilities will manufacture the computer chips at the heart of nearly every electronic device in existence, including smart phones, laptops, cars and even advanced weapons systems used by the military.
Micron specializes in producing memory and storage chips specifically. On your phone, for example, the chips store your photos and apps. In a self-driving car, they store the data needed for the system to make split-second decisions while on the road.
“What we do is among the most advanced and difficult manufacturing processes anywhere in the world,” Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said today.
The market for those chips is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, he added.
The site in Clay beat out multiple other locations around the country and the globe, Mehrotra said, although he wouldn’t disclose specifics.
The company ultimately settled on Central New York for a litany of reasons, including access to clean water and power and New York’s history in the semiconductor industry.
The region also has a rich and diverse talent pool, Mehrotra said. He mentioned the number of veterans in the region several times. He said it’s a group the company has found well suited to type of technical and specialized work it requires.
The region itself was a factor as well. Mehrotra said he and his team were impressed by the area’s affordable housing, good school districts and access to entertainment and recreation in urban and outdoor settings.
Incentives played a role too.
The project will benefit from a state package of $5.5 billion in tax credits over 20 years. The state will also spend $200 million on road and infrastructure improvements around the site.
The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency will grant Micron a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement that will last 49 years. The agency will also provide breaks on state and local sales taxes on construction materials.
Additionally, Onondaga County will provide a $5 million façade grant, $10 million to help establish a semiconductor research and development effort at the Syracuse Center of Excellence, $5 million for workforce development efforts over 10 years and another $5 million to help with recruiting during the early phases of the project.
Micron will also be eligible for a share of billions in federal incentives and tax credits thanks to legislation passed earlier this year. The Chips and Science Act was signed into law in August by President Joe Biden. It provides $52 billion to entice chip companies to make more components in the U.S.
The cost is worth it, officials said. Hochul, Schumer and Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said repeatedly during the press conference that all of Central New York will benefit from the project.
“This is validation,” McMahon said. “It’s validation in our community, our values, and most important, it’s validation in you, our people.”
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