President Joe Biden is heading to Central New York Thursday.
He is expected to appear at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology after being greeted by Gov. Kathy Hochul at Hancock International Airport.
The president’s appearance is to announce a preliminary agreement between the Department of Commerce and Micron to provide up to $6.14 billion in direct funding to support both Micron’s new semiconductor plant in the Town of Clay, as well as another fab in Boise, Idaho.
The trip will also coincide with the announcement that Syracuse has been named as one of four “Investing in America Work Hubs.” The others being Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Michigan. It comes after a first round of hubs were designated by the White House, including centers in Phoenix, Arizona, and Columbus, Ohio, that focus on semiconductor training.
Speaking with reporters ahead of the announcement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the investment “nothing short of transformation.”
“We are rebuilding New York’s economy from the bottom up and the middle out, one microchip at a time,” he said. “Our country will be more economically secure because of Micron, our national security will be stronger, and our country will once again have Syracuse and Upstate New York at the heart of its manufacturing.”
Officials said the workforce hub designation will provide a “convening mechanism” to spur connections between employers and educational institutions to drive further investment in those areas.
They would not elaborate on how much of the funding will go toward the fab in Clay as compared to the Boise plant, but said both would receive “significant” support as part of an “integrated strategy.”
