WXXI - Corning, Inc. will invest $139 million in Monroe County and add more than 270 new jobs.
That word came on Friday in a news conference at the company’s facility in Fairport. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul were on hand for the announcement which calls for Corning to expand operations at site in Fairport and Gates to produce equipment needed by major semiconductor manufacturers.
A global chip shortage is limiting the production of everything from cell phones to household appliances to cars.
“This equipment is used by every major chip maker in every step of making their chips," Schumer said. "Without facilities like this, our chip industry would fall apart, and our economy would fall apart. That's how essential what we're doing here is."
The project involved creating over 270 jobs at Corning’s Village of Fairport location, which is scheduled to be completed in 2024, and a new laser optics production facility in Gates, which is targeted for completion in 2023.
Corning employs 7,000 in New York state, predominately in the Southern Tier and Monroe County. How many work at the Fairport facility was not immediately known, as the company declined to release that information. Hiring already has begun.
The expansion will continue to keep Corning well positioned to support the chip manufacturing process as the company responds to growing customer demand, said Corning chairman and CEO Wendell Weeks.
"When you think of the semiconductor industry, you don't automatically think of Corning," he said. "But in fact we are central to the production and performance of the precision equipment that builds semiconductor chips."
Empire State Development is providing up to $5 million in tax credits in exchange for investment commitments and the jobs, which are to be created by 2026. Monroe County and Greater Rochester Enterprise are also assisting with the expansion.