Intel considers «several countries» in Europe to locate the microchip factories, where it advanced investments worth about 80 billion euros over the next decade. The company has not made a decision on it yet, although it plans to announce its worldwide expansion plans this year.
«We are considering many locations and we plan to announce our next expansion phase in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world over the course of this year». «At the moment we are considering several European countries, but we have not yet decided», said Intel.
A few weeks ago, the technology company rejected setting up a factory in the United Kingdom due to Brexit, becoming an opportunity for European countries such as Spain.
Welcoming Intel to Spain would be a huge coup for its recovering economy. It is partnering with key players in the automotive industry and is allocating significant resources in Europe to help drive the transition from traditional to more advanced chip manufacturing. Spain is the second largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and the ninth worldwide and the Barcelona region is a significant automobile industry centre in Spain: one of every five vehicles is produced in the region. Within a radius of 300 km from Barcelona are produced more than 1,350,000 units of cars per year. All these elements make Spain and especially the Barcelona region, a right location for hosting one of these factories.
Welcoming Intel to Spain would be a huge coup for its recovering economy.
With this investment, Intel is looking to expand its manufacturing operations in Europe, in a period characterized by a shortage of chips worldwide. The company is currently the largest seller of integrated circuits in the world and plans to invest 80 billion euros in Europe over the coming decade. Moreover, the expansion of the multinational aims to reduce the over-dependence on Asia for semiconductors and other vital raw materials, which has brought many industries to a near standstill in recent months.