Technology: Chip company Globalfoundries is investing billions more in Dresden

The US chip company plans to expand its factory in Silicon Saxony. The factory has been operating at full capacity for years, and the expansion comes at the right time: the industry needs new capacity.

Globalfoundries in Dresden: The US group is planning well into the next decade. Photo: GlobalFoundries

Munich. The US group Globalfoundries plans to expand its factory in Dresden from 2028 for 1.5 billion euros. Site manager Manfred Horstmann announced this at a customer event organized by the chip manufacturer in Munich.

Globalfoundries is currently expanding the location for 1.1 billion euros. The state contributes almost half of this. The company celebrated the topping-out ceremony last Friday. Series production in the new clean rooms is scheduled to begin next year. The next phase of expansion could then begin in 2028.

Further investments are expected in the next decade, the manager said, but did not give any details. Overall, chip production should grow by a good 70 percent compared to the current level.

According to company information, Dresden is already the largest location for a contract manufacturer in the chip industry in Europe. Globalfoundries takes over the production of special semiconductors for other semiconductor companies.

“We have been at the limit for years,” said Horstmann in an interview with Handelsblatt. The factory with its 3,000 employees is at full capacity.

Good news for customers

The plans are good news for industry in Germany and Europe. New capacities are urgently needed, said Lars Reger, head of technology at the Dutch chip provider NXP, in Munich.