By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) -Intel expects a small reduction from the $8.5 billion preliminary U.S. subsidies planned for the chipmaker, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The $8.5 billion in direct grants were part of a larger package of loan guarantees, tax incentives and other measures announced in March.
But in September, Intel also won a $3 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Funding for that contract ended up coming from the $39 billion that U.S. lawmakers allocated for chip subsidies rather than the Pentagon’s budget, which led to a reduction in Intel’s direct grant award, the person said.
Reuters could not learn the likely amount of Intel’s direct grant funding, but CNBC on Monday reported it could total $8 billion. A U.S. Department of Commerce spokesman declined to comment on Intel’s award, which is not yet final.
This spring U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration said it was awarding Intel nearly $20 billion in grants and loans, supercharging the company’s domestic semiconductor chip output and marking the government’s largest outlay to subsidize leading-edge chip production.
The U.S. announced a preliminary agreement for $8.5 billion in grants and up to $11 billion in loans for Intel in Arizona in March, with some of the funding to be used to build two new factories and modernize an existing one.
The outlay is part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, a bid to boost domestic semiconductor output with $52.7 billion in funding, including $39 billion in subsidies for semiconductor production and $11 billion for research and development.
In September, however, Intel also won $3 billion in funding from the U.S. Defense Department to help the Pentagon build a secure U.S. supply chain for chips. Congress in March decided that funding would come from the same pool as $39 billion in CHIPS Act grants. Politico reported that some lawmakers objected to that move because Intel was seen as the most likely recipient for funding for the classified project.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)
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