CCU in the News
Our local partners are working hard this summer. Here’s what’s going on.
The CHIPS and Science Act is three years old and an abject failure. Read our latest blog post.
Two of CCU’s co-founders, Ted Smith and Mandy Hawes, contributed to a powerful article about health and safety in the electronics industry, for both workers and communities.
Arizona: CCU will co-host a one-day conference with ASU’s Center for Work and Democracy on Oct. 8, 2025. The theme is the Dark Side of the Chip, and we’ll discuss the impact of the semiconductor boom on workers, communities, and the environment. Activists and academics from across the country will be speaking. Please save the date (I know it’s very soon); registration will open within a week. Feel free to email me for more information.
New York: There’s a lot going on in Central New York! Our partner Jobs to Move America and local allies helped deliver over 600 comments on Micron’s megafab project as part of a joint federal and New York State environmental review process. Here’s an overview of the environmental concerns raised. CCU submitted comments on PFAS pollution (forever chemicals), which was a big concern for many commenters. The Sierra Club raised concerns around pollution and energy use, among other issues. The public comment period closed Aug. 11, and the next phase will be permitting, as the company seeks state and local permits for the wide range of impacts that a $100 billion manufacturing plant is likely to have. (FYI: Here’s an incomplete calendar of upcoming permitting deadlines.)
New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation is now soliciting comments on Micron’s permit applications for its impact on wetlands, clean water, and endangered species. You can learn more and submit your own comment (before September 1) here.
Ohio: Ohioans have paid Intel $600 million as part of the chip-maker’s contract with the state — in return for which the company promised to create two massive, job-creating factories in New Albany. But Intel keeps pushing back their deadline. Our Ohio partner Policy Matters Ohio has been tracking it. In the last few weeks, Researcher Bailey Sandin and Research Director Zach Schiller have talked to reporters about what’s at stake. And speaking of public discussions, Policy Matters Ohio recently hosted a town hall meeting in Licking County to explore the impact of Intel’s project.
National News
Wow, there has been a lot about chips in the national news this month! What follows is actually a small subset.
President Trump said Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan should resign because of his ties to China. A few days later, the CEO visited the White House and Trump flipped. Following the meeting, the president cooked up a plan to convert Intel’s remaining CHIPS Act grants into an equity stake in the company, worth almost 10% of Intel’s value. Tan accepted, and now the US government owns a chunk of Intel. (The total equity investment is $8.9 billion – the amount Intel hasn’t yet received of the $11 billion it was originally awarded — $7.86 billion from the CHIPS Program Office plus $3.2 billion from the Pentagon to make chips for the military.) The government will not get governance rights or a voting position in Intel.
Trump says he wants more deals like this. There were some reports that the administration may ask other CHIPS Act recipients to give up equity, but follow-up reporting seems to have quashed that rumor. Apparently TSMC planned to refuse its CHIPS incentive grant if the company was required to give the US government equity. A Commerce Department official also said that because TSMC and Micron had expanded their investments beyond their original promises, they would not be asked for equity in return.
Is it a good idea for the government to own a chunk of a private corporation? The stock market says yes.
So does Bernie Sanders. Socialists tend to favor nationalizing industries. “If microchip companies make a profit from the generous grants they receive from the federal government,” he argues, “the taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on that investment.” In this vein, another progressive analyst argues approvingly that Trump’s move is properly seen as a continuation of the CHIPS Act.
But most observers are opposed to a public stake in Intel. Republicans in Congress say it sounds like the Soviet Union. The Wall Street Journal, true to its free-market roots, writes that “Uncle Sam shouldn’t own Intel stock” and describes the purchase of shares as a full flowering of China-style state capitalism. The liberal New Republic labels the action “very fascist.” Larry Summers calls it “deals-based capitalism.” “The president just saying he wants the public to have a stake in a major company,” says Elizabeth Warren, “isn’t the same as having a real strategy to rein in stock buybacks, onshore jobs, and support long-term economic growth in America.” The equity stake won’t reverse Intel’s downward spiral, critics argue. (And if that’s not enough commentary for you, here’s a thoughtful take from Matt Stoller on Intel’s monopoly position.)
The president also agreed to allow Nvidia (which designs but does not manufacture AI chips, as you probably know) to sell AI chips to China, provided the company gives the US government 15% of the proceeds. “This isn’t rational industrial policy,” said one analyst.
In tariff-land, our president threatened a 100% tariff on semiconductors, though he said it wouldn’t apply to chips made in the US.
In other news, just a few days ago, the US government announced it was eliminating Natcast, the non-profit created by the CHIPS Act to support R&D. At CCU, we are particularly unhappy about the likely end of two programs (PRISM and CARISSMA) that would have funded research into PFAS in the semiconductor industry. Friend of CCU Rep. Zoe Lofgren denounced the action.
The administration is considering redirecting $2 billion of CHIPS Act money to support critical minerals and reduce US dependence on China for minerals like gallium and germanium.
News from Around the Country
Arizona: Amkor will begin construction in Peoria in September, despite significant community opposition. The company plans to hold a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on Oct. 6th. Amkor’s facility will be the largest outsourced packaging plant in the country once it is built. The company has already received its first customer: Apple plans to invest in Amkor as part of its pledged $100 billion investment in the US.
Applied Materials announced that it would invest $200 million to build a new factory in Chandler. The new plant will manufacture chip-making equipment that Texas Instruments will use to make semiconductors for Apple products.
Former workers are suing TSMC for creating a hostile work environment at the Phoenix facility and discriminating against US workers.
It’s not semiconductors, but it’s a similar battle: Community leaders fought back against a massive Amazon data center near Tucson, and won! Local folks did a ton of impressive organizing and turned out 1000 people to a city council meeting. In response, the city council rejected the deal, and the mayor said they intend to establish regulations about data centers. (Shout out to friends of CCU AI Now and Good Jobs First, among many other people, for their great work on this.) In similar news, St. Charles, Missouri became the first US city to put a moratorium on data center construction.
California: The UAW has put out a great report on industrial policy and green jobs in California.
A former Apple employee reports that the company vented toxic chemicals from a secret, illegal semiconductor factory in Santa Clara and then fired her for complaining when she got sick with chemical poisoning. Here’s a petition calling for Apple to shut down the facility.
A recently passed California law exempted advanced manufacturing facilities from California’s environmental review process (CEQA) in an effort to spur chip manufacturing in the state. The UAW led labor opposition to the effort. The Sierra Club called the law half-baked and said it “will have destructive consequences for environmental justice communities and endangered species across California.” California organizations are now working to amend the law and restore environmental review for some projects, including most semiconductor factories.
New York: GlobalFoundries euphemistically said it was making adjustments to its workforce in Malta, also known as laying off workers. The company is firing employees while making a $16 billion dollar expansion and expecting $1.5 billion in CHIPS Act subsidy from the US government.
Texas: Take a look inside Texas Instruments’ megaproject in Sherman, where Apple will make iPhone chips.
Corporate News
Apparently Intel’s chairman tried to broker a deal to sell fabs to TSMC, but the Intel CEO Tan refused.
And some information on Samsung’s financial and strategic performance.
Labor and Workforce News
There’s new data on manufacturing jobs in the US, from a study that tracks changes since 2000:
- U.S. manufacturing has become more productive but less labor-intensive: The country has lost over 4.5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000, but real manufacturing GDP grew by 45%, revealing a sharp disconnect between employment and output. This trend is especially evident in states like Oregon, Arizona, Florida, and Texas, all of which more than doubled their manufacturing GDP during this period despite a net decline in manufacturing employment.
- Electronics manufacturing was hit the hardest. Since 2000, employment in computer and electronic product manufacturing has fallen by 786,000 jobs, a decline of over 43%.
- Automation, not offshoring alone, explains the shift: The majority of states increased their manufacturing GDP while shedding jobs, pointing to rising productivity and a shift toward less labor-intensive manufacturing.
- The states that lost the most jobs were New York (45% drop in manufacturing employment), Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont (each of which lost more than 40% of manufacturing jobs). California lost the most manufacturing jobs in absolute terms. Other major losses occurred in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois, and Michigan.
- Nevada was the only state where manufacturing jobs grew faster than overall job growth during the last 25 years.Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Alaska also added manufacturing jobs, but not as fast as overall private-sector employment.
Global Politics
Trump trade war with China is starting to look like a partnership.
We’re Also Reading
America’s fantasy of home-grown chipmaking: To remain the world’s foremost technological power, the country needs its friends.
Upcoming Events
The Dark Side of the Chip – a conference in Phoenix on Oct. 8, co-hosted by CCU and ASU’s Center for Work and Democracy. Details to follow!
