Photo: U.S. Department of Energy / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
The GlobalFoundries campus in Malta, in Saratoga County, is the largest private employer built in the Capital Region in a generation and the anchor of what local officials call Tech Valley. Federal and state support for semiconductor manufacturing has put the company’s plans for the site at the center of the region’s economic outlook.
How the Malta fab came to be
The plant, known as Fab 8, sits on the Luther Forest Technology Campus, a site straddling the towns of Malta and Stillwater that was prepared specifically for a chip fab. Advanced Micro Devices announced plans for a fab there in 2006, and the manufacturing business was spun off as GlobalFoundries in 2009. Construction followed, with production starting in the early 2010s. New York State provided substantial incentives for the project through its economic development programs.
Fab 8 produces chips for a wide range of customers rather than designing its own. Its products end up in cars, communications equipment, consumer devices and defense systems. In 2021 the company announced it was moving its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Malta, and the New York campus is its largest manufacturing site in the United States.
The CHIPS and Science Act
The federal CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 created a program of grants, loans and a 25 percent investment tax credit to rebuild domestic chip manufacturing. GlobalFoundries reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2024 for federal funding to support expansion in Malta and at its plant in Essex Junction, Vermont, including plans for an additional fab in Malta. Commerce Department announcements and the company’s own filings describe the award, the conditions attached to it and the timeline.
State support runs alongside the federal program. New York’s Green CHIPS law offers tax credits for semiconductor projects that meet environmental and labor standards, and Empire State Development administers state incentives tied to job and investment commitments.
Why it matters beyond Malta
- Jobs and suppliers. A fab draws a network of equipment makers, chemical and gas suppliers, construction trades and service firms across Saratoga, Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties.
- Research. Albany NanoTech, operated by NY CREATES, is home to a major research complex used by chipmakers and toolmakers, and it has been selected for a federal semiconductor research facility under the CHIPS program.
- Workforce. Hudson Valley Community College, SUNY Adirondack, the University at Albany and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute run programs feeding technicians and engineers into the industry.
- Infrastructure. Chip fabs require large, reliable supplies of power and water. Expansion plans bring questions for the Saratoga County Water Authority and the electric grid.
What to watch
Federal CHIPS awards are paid out in stages as companies hit construction and investment milestones, so the size of the funding and the pace of construction are worth tracking separately. Local planning boards in Malta and Stillwater, and the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency, hold public hearings on any new buildings or tax agreements, and those agendas are posted online. The company’s quarterly reports to investors list capital spending plans and production capacity.
