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McMahon: Micron job cuts 'does not impact' plans for Clay plant

Mike Groll
/
Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul

Micron recently announced that it would be cutting their workforce by 10% in 2023. How does this affect the $100 billion chip plant complex announced for Clay?

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon says not to worry, as most of the Micron workforce is internationally based and part of the reason they chose Clay is to diversify their risk in manufacturing. He says like other industries, the semiconductor industry goes through economic cycles.

"In 2020 and 2021, and even in 2022, you saw a huge successful years in the semiconductor industry because they were making so many chips," McMahon said. "The problem was there was an artificial demand because their customers were buying more than they needed. So, 2023 is going to be a down year in the semiconductor industry."

McMahon said they negotiated the deal with Micron knowing the semiconductor company may have to make cuts in the short term, but he said the White Pine location is on track to be ready for production in 2026.

"That doesn't impact our plans whatsoever," McMahon said. "We actually in our construction schedule when we negotiated this deal with Micron, factored all of that in, and we understood that they might have to make cuts in the short term. That doesn't affect our project at all."

Micron says it expects the demand for chips to nearly double by 2030. The Micron chip plant in Clay is expected to bring 9,000 new Micron jobs with it.

Ava Pukatch joined the WRVO news team in September 2022. She previously reported for WCHL in Chapel Hill, NC and earned a degree in Journalism and Media from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC, Ava was a Stembler Scholar and a reporter and producer for the award-winning UNC Hussman broadcast Carolina Connection. In her free time, Ava enjoys theatre, coffee and cheering on Tar Heel sports. Find her on Twitter @apukatch.