Sale of IBM Microchip Plants in Vermont, New York Completed

GlobalFoundries announced Wednesday it had completed its purchase of IBM’s microchip plants in Vermont and New York, giving a new lease on life to a big employer in Vermont and New York’s Duchess County.

“Today we have significantly enhanced our technology development capabilities and reinforce our long-term commitment to investing in R&D for technology leadership,” said Sanjay Jha, chief executive officer of GlobalFoundries.

The announcement came two days after the acquisition won its needed federal approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an inter-agency panel that reviews the national security implications of big commercial transactions. GlobalFoundries is owned by an investment firm in turn owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

IBM spokeswoman Lisa Lanspery said GlobalFoundries’ takeover of the microchip manufacturing operations will allow Big Blue to focus on research and development of the coming generations of computer chip design.

In a joint research project at the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, the companies are working to develop 10 nanometer and 7 nanometer chips for mobile devices and stationary equipment like servers and printers. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. IBM is investing $3 billion in computer chip research in the next five years, Lanspery said.

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the July 2nd, 2015 edition of Hamodia.