Intel pulls the plug: Magdeburg Chipfabrik burst!

Intel pulls the plug: Magdeburg Chipfabrik burst!

Magdeburg, Deutschland - In the past few months, the situation around the planned chipbares in Germany has changed significantly. Intel has now finally given up plans for a large chip factory in Magdeburg and does not want to continue an additional work in Poland. This decision is no longer possible: for a long time the group suffered from massive financial difficulties and recently recorded a sales stagnation of $ 12.9 billion. In the last quarter, Intel had to accept a loss of $ 2.9 billion after $ 1.6 billion in red figures had already been written in the previous year. The new CEO Lip-Bu Tan has already announced that it will reduce about a quarter of the approximately 100,000 jobs to improve the balance sheet. Much of these dismissals were pronounced in July, and the remaining dismantling is carried out by natural fluctuation and other measures. Originally, the investment for the factory in Saxony-Anhalt was estimated at around 30 billion euros, which was to create 3,000 new jobs. In 2023, the Federal Government promised statutory aids of 9.9 billion euros, but the first construction measures were always delayed. The groundbreaking was initially planned for 2024, now it looks like the project was completely off the table.

important role of the semiconductor

semiconductors are of essential importance for modern industry. They are not only in smartphones, but also in cars, washing machines and even in weapon systems. About every second semiconductor comes from Taiwan, which illustrates the dependence of the German companies and the geopolitical explosiveness of the situation. A significant proportion, more than 80 percent, of German companies in the processing business and in ITK services, rely on these critical components. The past few years have shown the vulnerability of the supply chains: delivery bottlenecks during pandemic had drastic effects on many industries. Geopolitical tensions also contribute to uncertainty about the reliability of the semiconductor deliveries, so that initiatives to increase production capacities in Europe are all the more important.

But there are moving times not only in the tech sector. There is also a lot going on on the political stage. The federal government recently approved the export of Eurofighter fight jets to Turkey. This is a hotly discussed topic because arms deliveries to Türkiye are controversial due to the current human rights situation. Here the Turkish government has to decide whether it actually wants to order the planes. In the Federal Foreign Office, there is resistance to the Federal Government's previous Israel policy. A group of around 130 young diplomats demands a more contemporary attitude on this topic. They believe that Germany should also take sanctions in relation to Israel for violations of international law, while the SPD is already pre -tested and demands appropriate measures.

political developments in view

In the middle of these discussions, there are also talks between the German Chancellor Merz and the French President Macron. Security and foreign policy issues are on the agenda. An agreement on the development of the new aircraft system FCAS by the end of August will be sought, with both parties unity showing the need to react to possible US tariffs. Merz and Macron have also expressed their concern about the situation in the Gaza Strip and are calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Developments related to Chipfabriken and arms export show that many important decisions must currently be made in Germany and beyond that that can have far -reaching consequences. It will be interesting to see how it will go on in the near future.