On July 24, 2012, the third anniversary of the Fab 8 groundbreaking, GLOBALFOUNDRIES announced it is moving forward with the final construction of the extension of Module 1 at the Malta, N.Y. campus. The project will add 90,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity, bringing the total capacity for Fab 8 Module 1 to 300,000 square feet. Construction will begin in August and work is expected to be completed in December 2013.
The decision to move forward with the extension comes as a result of increased demand from customers, especially at the 28nm node. Extending the Fab 8 cleanroom is expected to enable the Fab 8 capacity to reach approximately 60,000 wafers per month and it will increase the capital budget by approximately $2.3 billion, taking the total capital budget from $4.6 billion to approximately $6.9 billion, once tools and equipment are installed.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES began construction on Fab 8 in July 2009 and began moving people and equipment into the facility in mid-2011. Initial wafer starts began earlier this year and the facility is on track to begin risk production by the end of the year, with volume production in early 2013.
“By continuing to expand our investment in the project, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is delivering more options to our global customers, while helping to redefine upstate New York as a premier hub of the global semiconductor industry, creating thousands of new advanced manufacturing jobs, and contributing billions of dollars to the regional economy,” said Eric Choh, vice president and general manager of Fab 8.
Since breaking ground on Fab 8 in 2009, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has created more than 1,500 new direct jobs, in addition to 4,300 construction-related jobs. The project is the largest private Project Labor Agreement in history, generating hundreds of millions of dollars of economic development throughout upstate New York during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
