CCU in the News
A nice news story about the June press conference organized by Arizona Jobs with Justice and IUPAT in Chandler, urging the city to make Intel clean up its toxic waste.
National News
As anticipated, the reconciliation bill that Trump signed last week included bigger tax credits for chipmakers. It’s a windfall for semiconductor manufacturers. But because the tax credit expires at the end of 2026, it will do little to encourage new projects and instead will simply reward manufacturing projects that are already underway. The deadline “leaves approximately 18 months for new projects to break ground, including obtaining internal and external approvals, sourcing and purchasing the necessary land, community engagement, securing investment, designing the project, and obtaining required permits. Projects that are just one day late and begin construction in 2027 will miss out on the tax credit entirely.”
From the standpoint of science and workforce funding, the new law is bad news for the semiconductor industry. The co-called Big Beautiful Bill “rescinds over $20 billion from the CHIPS and Science Act’s R&D budget, neutering long-term U.S. innovation in semiconductors, and cuts the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) budget by 70 percent. Programs to support workforce development in strategic and emerging sectors—including NSF fellowships and community college grants—have been zeroed out.”
Republican Senators have introduced a bill to strip DEI out of the CHIPS and Science Act. The “Dismantling Ideological Policies for Semiconductors and Science Act” would repeal diversity requirements for STEM educators and DEI best practices for the academic and federal STEM workforce.
At the same time as GOP lawmakers are attacking the CHIPS Act, Trump is taking credit for it. The Trump Effect, a list of investments that the president has allegedly brought about, includes CHIPS Act projects announced during Biden’s presidency, such as Micron, TSMC, GlobalFoundries, Global Wafers, and Corning.
News from Around the Country
California: In the most anti-environmental law in recent memory, the state legislature has rolled back environmental review requirements. The new law exempts nine types of projects from environmental reviews: child care centers, health clinics, food banks, farmworker housing, broadband, wildfire prevention, water infrastructure, public parks or trails and, notably, advanced manufacturing. Labor and environmental groups are calling for lawmakers to eliminate the advanced manufacturing exemption, given that high tech production can have toxic consequences for workers and communities; this sort of manufacturing deserves more, not less, public scrutiny.
Michigan: In Mundy Township, the local economic development agency is offering $40 million to relocate a school from the “megasite” where the governor is hoping to get a chip fab.
Texas: Officially, Samsung is on target to open its Taylor fab. But sources say the company is delaying the $44 billion chip fab because “there are no customers.”
Corporate News
Corning: Last year, the Commerce Dept promised Corning $32 million for an expansion in DeKalb, NY, with the expectation of creating 130 new jobs. On July 1, the company announced they would be laying off 20 employees instead.
Intel: CHIPS Communities United has gotten a copy of the Commerce Department’s contract with Intel for its CHIPS Act incentive award. Please email me if you’d like to see it. Recognizing that it may no longer be valid (since Trump and Lutnick promised to renegotiate CHIPS Act contracts), it has some interesting tidbits including a legal commitment that Intel create 6,230 jobs – well below the 10,000 jobs that Commerce and Intel publicly announced, and a requirement that Intel develop a plan to operationalize the Good Jobs Principles.
Oh and speaking of jobs, Intel has announced layoffs of 172 workers in Chandler, AZ, 110 employees in Austin, TX, and 529 people in Hillsboro, OR. This is likely just the beginning of this round of layoffs: the company announced previously that it would be laying off 15 to 20% of its foundry workforce in 2025, which would amount to 8,000-11,000 workers.
Samsung: The company is in turmoil. Apparently, Samsung is being crushed by TSMC.
TSMC: Tariffs and geopolitics are redrawing the map of semiconductors. With its $165 billion planned investment in Arizona, TSMC is committing to the largest single foreign direct investment in US history. “This scale isn’t just about chips; it’s about securing control over the supply chain for industries from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. TSMC’s decision [to expand its US footprint] is a masterclass in navigating geo-economic headwinds.”
But all is not well at the company. A discrimination lawsuit has been refiled against the company’s Arizona branch, claiming the company engages in discriminatory practices. The suit was initially filed in November 2024, when a dozen employees voiced complaints about the company’s alleged “anti-American” bias that favors Taiwanese workers over those from the U.S. The lawsuit also outlines what the workers describe as a hostile work environment and unsafe working conditions.
Wolfspeed: Stock soars after the company files for bankruptcy. Capitalism 101.
Labor and Workforce News
The latest on the skills gap: semiconductor production demands expansion of the Skilled Technical Workforce: workers with high-level technical skills but not a four-year degree.
Here are some funding opportunities in the workforce development space.
- The Labor Department has posted grants for women workers. The Women in Non Traditional Occupations grants (WANTO) provides $5 million in funding to support up to 14 grantees. The application closes August 8, so don’t wait.
- Natcast, the non-profit created by the CHIPS Act, also has money available for workforce solutions. Natcast anticipates making 10-20 awards ranging from approximately $500,000 to $2 million per award, with projects expected to commence in 2026 for periods of performance of one to two years. Learn more here.
Economic News
The state of the US semiconductor industry: the industry’s recent expansion has captured “more than a half-trillion dollars in recently announced investments for over 100 chip ecosystem projects across 28 states…, setting in motion a projected tripling of U.S. chipmaking capacity by 2032. These projects are projected to create and support over 500,000 American jobs – 68,000 facility jobs in the semiconductor ecosystem, 122,000 construction jobs, and over 320,000 additional jobs supported throughout the U.S. economy.”
But our country still relies heavily on imports. In the semiconductor industry, the US imported “over $200 billion more than it exported in 2024… Imports are highly concentrated, with five countries providing nearly 80 percent of U.S. semiconductor-tied imports. China tops the list, supplying more than a quarter of imports. It leads assembly, testing, and packaging (ATP) globally, and is home to nearly a third of ATP facilities, including for many U.S.-owned firms. Taiwan supplies almost one fifth of U.S. imports, sending both wafers and finished chips. Mexico ranks third, holding steady at 15 percent over the past decade, though that may rise as Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn brings new ATP capacity online as soon as late 2025 or early 2026.” All these imports would be impacted by tariffs.
Global Politics
A record number of people are leaving the Philippines to work in Taiwanese factories, where they face long shifts, low pay, and unequal treatment.
CHIPS Act is all very well and good, but what about rare earth elements?
We’re Also Reading
A long essay from movement sage Deepak Bhargava (also my college friend) and the president of the Freedom Together Foundation. Deepak says we are no longer free, but we can use our leverage to oppose authoritarianism. Sue. Protest. Vote. Disrupt. De-legitimize. Draw defectors.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading this far!
