GlobalFoundries Essex Jct. plant to receive $125M out of federal grant

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (WCAX) – While Essex Junction’s GlobalFoundries plant is only slated to get a small piece of the $1.5 billion in federal funding announced for the company this week, Vermont officials say it’s a commitment to retaining the state largest private sector employer.

“This really ensures the viability of the plant for the future, the viability of those jobs here in Vermont,” said Vermont Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein.

The company is slated to receive $125 million for the Essex Junction plant’s $900 million Fab 9 expansion. a small percentage of the $1.5 billion federal grant. GlobalFoundries in Vermont has received millions in recent years to beef up production on next-generation computer chips and even received approval from state regulators to become its own utility.

The plant is in need of modernization and Goldstein says they are making the investment in Vermont. “We’re very happy not just for Vermont but nationally, that we can play such an outsized role in bringing home on-shoring chip production,” she said.

Officials say the gallium nitride chips slated for production are on the cutting-edge of technology and will be used in phones, computers, EVs, and even military satellites.

Frank Cioffi with the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation says GlobalFoundries makes up around 40% of Vermont’s exports and employs around 2,000 workers who live in 10 out of 14 counties.

Goldstein says the investment brings even more jobs. “Not just the fit-up jobs — because they have to retool the entire plant — but also to be trained in the new tools and the new technologies,” she said.

Cioffi says the investment follows years of work by former senator Patrick Leahy, then-representative Peter Welch, and Governor Phil Scott, but adds it’s the employees that have secured GlobalFoundries’ future in the Green Mountains.

State officials next week are expected to provide further details, including questions about the remaining sources of funding for the $900 million project, how many new jobs will be created, and when the work will begin.