On Wednesday, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich unveiled plans to complete an advanced semiconductor factory in Chandler, Arizona, from the Oval Office, standing next to President Trump. Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker, broke ground on the plant in 2011 (former President Barack Obama visited in 2012), but Intel suspended the project when the PC market hit a slump. Krzanich said the company decided to make this $7 billion investment now because of "the tax and regulatory policies we see the administration pushing forward."
In a note to employees, Krzanich said Intel had coordinated the unveiling with the White House starting a few weeks ago to signal support for the parts of Trump's agenda that benefit Intel, like the push to make U.S. manufacturing more globally competitive. But "when we disagree, we don't walk away," he added.
Intel and other big Silicon Valley companies have signed on to a legal brief opposing Trump's executive order banning travel and immigration from seven majority-Muslim nations, but many of them are in favor of Trump's proposed corporate tax breaks and seek incentives for research and development. Intel also wants the federal government to scale back restrictions on exporting certain types of advanced chip technology, The New York Times notes, specifically regulations that "forbid the company from making its high-end processors in China." About half of Intel's 106,000 employees are in the U.S.
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