A computer graphic shows the semiconductor production planned in Magdeburg by the US group Intel.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner rejects higher subsidies for the chip factory planned in Magdeburg by the US group Intel. “There is no more money in the household,” Lindner told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. “We are currently trying to consolidate the budget, not expand it,” added the FDP leader.
According to the newspaper, Intel did not want to comment on the statements. The company said there was a gap in costs and that it was working with the government to close it.
Intel is planning to build a large plant in the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt. Originally, there was talk of an investment volume of 17 billion euros. Because of the generally increased prices and the associated higher construction and energy costs, the group is now demanding ten billion euros in subsidies instead of the originally planned 6.8 billion euros, according to Handelsblatt information from government circles.
Lindner had stated that the federal government would examine the framework conditions, but at the same time emphasized that the state could not be blackmailed.
The federal government and the European Union have been trying for months to attract American or Asian chip manufacturers with subsidies running into the billions. The background is also the desire to become more technologically independent of China.
To this end, the EU has launched the European Chips Act – a package of subsidies totaling 43 billion euros. The EU wants to double the production capacity for chips by 2030 in order to catch up with Asia and the USA.
More: Dispute on Intel’s settlement in Magdeburg: “We would get more out of it if we built an East German Harvard”