Intel’s flagship lab in Oregon to be outsourced

In recent years, Intel has received about 20% of all revenue from the sale of components that it did not produce in-house. At this stage, talking about an increase in the share of products manufactured by contractors, Intel executives are brave, declaring their intentions to return the company to the ability to independently produce products using advanced lithographic technologies.

Industry experts interviewed by Oregon Live express doubts about the possibility of reverse migration. According to them, if the process of delegating authority to TSMC is launched, then it will be extremely difficult for Intel to return advanced technologies to its own conveyor. In any case, there will be no economic feasibility in this, and the current CEO of Intel previously held the financial position and therefore knows how to count money.

So far, Intel’s Oregon lab has supplied advanced manufacturing processes not only to the company’s surrounding facilities but even to those outside the United States. There they were carefully mass-produced on a conveyor belt in accordance with the company’s stringent quality standards. If the technology division is eventually consolidated, then Intel’s own businesses may be able to release products using more mature technologies.

Intel has four technology campuses in Oregon and employs about 21,000 people. The company is one of the largest employers in the state, and any restructuring to optimize costs can hurt the labor market in the region. The construction of the TSMC facility in Arizona will be completed only by 2023, so if Intel entrusts the production of 7-nm products to this company, then production will focus on Taiwanese enterprises.