Samsung has announced plans to erect a $17 billion chip plant in Taylor in hopes the company will address the chip shortage now sweeping the country.
"I’m excited for Taylor and that Samsung's new investment and jobs will be located in our backyard,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in a post to Twitter. “The victories of Austin and neighboring cities like Taylor benefit our area as a whole and continue to mark us all as a tech hub."
The newly conducted semiconductor plant is slated to address chip shortages now being felt in the phones, cars and other electronic devices space.
"This is the largest foreign direct investment in the state of Texas, ever," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in announcing the project.
With the chip shortage having emerged as both a business shortcoming and a serious national security issue, construction is set to commence next year with an eye on operations beginning in the latter half of 2024.
The added investment stands to make the Texas project the company's largest investment in the U.S. Over the last three decades, The Semiconductor Industry Association reports the U.S. share of the worldwide chip manufacturing market has declined from 37% to just 12%. In response, the Biden administration has been pushing for Congress to pass the $52 billion CHIPS Act to increase computer chip manufacturing and research.
Abbott’s office added Samsung would also receive $27 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, a deal-closing tool used by the governor’s office.
"With greater manufacturing capacity, we will be able to better serve the needs of our customers and contribute to the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain," said Samsung Electronic Device Solutions Division Vice Chairman and CEO Kinam Kim. "We are also proud to be bringing more jobs and supporting the training and talent development for local communities, as Samsung celebrates 25 years of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States."
The plant is slated to be built on more than 1,000 acres southwest of downtown Taylor, near U.S. 79 and County Road 401. In total, Samsung is expected to invest $6 billion in buildings and property improvements, and $11 billion in machinery and equipment for the facility, which is expected to be operational by the first half of 2024 and employ more than 2,000 people. Construction is expected to start in the first half of 2022.