This time, it's in the USA - its home country - that Intel is demonstrating just how deep its problems run.
For almost a year now, Intel has been going from bad to worse, and while recent weeks have brought some almost reassuring news following catastrophic financial results for the second and third quarters of 2024, it's clear that nothing is simple for the American group. Last September, we learned that Intel executives had "put on pause" the German gigafactory project that was to mark the company's development in Europe. At the same time, other future structures linked to this mega-project were cancelled on the Old Continent... pending better days.
Things were supposed to be so good in Ohio © Intel
The days in question may not be so far off, however, as we learn today that Intel is calling another major project into question, this time in the United States. The "Silicon Heartland" was intended to boost Intel's production capacity in Uncle Sam's country by expanding its presence in Ohio. Construction had even begun in 2022, but as early as March 2024, we had details of a delay in the first phase of this pharaonic project: it was not to be completed until 2027-2028. In the end, the delay will be much longer. Intel now explains that the first phase should therefore be completed two/three years later, in 2030, for the first chips to be released around 2030-2031. Logically, the second phase will be delayed even further, with completion scheduled for 2031 and production starting in 2032. Plenty of time, of course, for these plans to be completely revised... or even cancelled!
