$32 million earmarked to help Corning Inc. expand Upstate NY facility. What to know

Posted by Admin November 8, 2024 Jobs

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The funding agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce is geared to increase production at Corning Inc.’s Canton facility specializing in glass vital to the semiconductor industry.

Corning Inc. has been awarded up to $32 million in federal funding to expand its Canton, New York, facility, creating more than 300 jobs in support of the semiconductor industry.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Friday announced the terms of Corning Inc.’s preliminary funding agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce to increase production of specialized glass vital for the semiconductor industry.

“We are grateful for Majority Leader Schumer’s vision and tireless efforts to strengthen the domestic semiconductor supply chain through the direct funding award and the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit created by the CHIPS and Science Act,” said Wendell Weeks, Chairman and CEO of Corning Inc. “This strategic investment will help our Canton facility continue to expand production of advanced optics components and create up to 130 good paying jobs that are critical to making the world’s most complex microchips.”

Schumer said this expansion, which will help strengthen a semiconductor supply chain vital for America’s national security, is expected to create up to 130 new, good-paying manufacturing jobs, including new union jobs, plus over 175 construction jobs, and “usher in the next chapter of manufacturing” in the North Country, where Corning Inc. is one of the region’s largest industrial employers.

“The glass needed for our semiconductor supply chain should be built in Canton, not China, and today’s investment helps further realize the goal of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Law of bringing manufacturing back to America,” said Schumer.

“The specialized glass made right here in Canton is used in some of the most advanced machinery in the world – while making microchips we need for technology we use every day, from our phones to our computers and cars.”

The proposed CHIPS award will support Corning Inc.’s planned $315 million investment to boost glass production in Canton critical to semiconductor manufacturing.

“This is good news for Upstate NY’s entire semiconductor ecosystem and all of Corning’s plants across Upstate NY,” Schumer said. “From Micron, GlobalFoundries, and Wolfspeed to the cutting-edge machinery at Albany NanoTech, the entire semiconductor industry in New York and across America needs the kind of specialized glass they make here in Canton.”

Corning has over 7,000 employees across New York state. The company previously announced a $139 million expansion in support of optic technology critical to microchip manufacturing in 2022, expected to create 270 jobs.