GlobalFoundries, Lockheed Martin announce partnership
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced a strategic partnership during a press conference between GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin to advance U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and increase the security, reliability, and resiliency of domestic supply chains for national security systems.
According to a news release from Schumer’s office, this new partnership, a direct result of the expected expansion of domestic chip manufacturing spurred by the CHIPS and Science Act, means that chips Lockheed Martin uses in some of the nation’s most sensitive defense and aerospace technologies will now be made at GlobalFoundries by Capital Region workers.
Schumer said this new collaboration between two of upstate New York’s largest employers will strengthen our national security, all while supporting the 2500 employees GlobalFoundries currently has working in Malta as well as potential future expansion.
“This major new partnership between GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin brings together two giants of upstate New York industry to ensure that the chips used in the technology that keep our country and our troops safe are made right here in the Capital Region. That means that more of the most complex, critical components we need to protect our national security going forward are going to be stamped ‘Made in New York’,” Schumer said in the news release. “I wrote my CHIPS & Science Act to spark
partnerships like this that will secure our domestic supply chains and lead to job growth and investment in places like upstate New York. Now more than ever, we need to secure our supply chains, and make sure the chips that our military relies on are built in places like the Capital Region, not overseas, and GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin are leading the charge to ensure that we build America’s tech future here in upstate NY.”
According to Schumer, this new strategic partnership between GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin would help safeguard America’s supply chains for national defense. Schumer said it is essential that we not rely on chips manufactured overseas for our national security and defense systems, and with this collaboration, Lockheed Martin will benefit from a reliable supply of trusted, US-made chips from GlobalFoundries, manufactured in Malta.
“GF is committed to innovation, our global manufacturing footprint and enabling a more resilient semiconductor supply chain in the U.S. and abroad. With the historic CHIPS and Science Act, Senator Schumer has put the U.S. on a path to globally competitive chip manufacturing, strengthening national defense and the economy,” Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GlobalFoundries, said in the news release. “The CHIPS Act is a catalyst for the renewed energy and enthusiasm in our industry and is helping foster new partnerships and collaborations across the ecosystem. I was proud to stand with Senator Schumer today and announce a new strategic collaboration between GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin to advance innovation and the resiliency of chips for missioncritical security systems.”
“Lockheed Martin is striving to deliver cutting-edge 21st Century Security technologies for the national defense of our country and its allies. One of the most crucial aspects of achieving this is the reliable and robust availability of U.S.made semiconductors,” added Jim Taiclet, Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin. “We look forward to working closely with GlobalFoundries to help increase access to domestically produced microelectronics — a true national security imperative. We are also thrilled to be deepening our relationship with the state of New York, which could not be happening without Senator Schumer’s leadership in Congress. He has been an unwavering advocate for our NY-based employees and championed key radar, mission systems and Naval aviation programs out of our Syracuse, Owego and Mitchel Field facilities. We are proud to have this new partnership in New York’s Capital Region.”
Schumer explained that the United States, which developed and pioneered semiconductor technology, for too long, has been reliant on foreign producers of semiconductors, putting our national and economic security at risk. Nearly 75% of global semiconductor production is now occurring in East Asia. In the past, Schumer has successfully pushed to limit the use of semiconductor chips made in foreign countries of concern like China, including in supply chains for the Defense Department, in order to strengthen national security and limit foreign dominance of the global microchip market.
In his CHIPS & Science Act, Schumer made national security and supply chain resilience top priorities when considering awards through the $52 billion in new federal CHIPS incentives at the Department of Commerce. Schumer also included a set aside of at least $2 billion in incentives to expand domestic production of mature-node chips like those made at GlobalFoundries in order to provide a reliable supply of this critical technology for industries like defense and automotive manufacturing.
This partnership comes just one year after Schumer announced $117 million in federal funding through the Defense Production Act for GlobalFoundries to provide a strategic supply of U.S.-made chips to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for national security systems. Last year, Schumer also announced $25 million in federal funding for a partnership between GlobalFoundries & PsiQuantum to expand R&D in the Capital Region and at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, NY to manufacture and test photonic quantum computing technology integral to national security efforts.
Additionally, Schumer worked with the Department of Defense to put in place a strategic partnership with GlobalFoundries to be a Trusted site that can provide a secure, reliable source of chips to the DoD, expanding the federally-supported market for GlobalFoundries’ chips that leads to the kind of partnership announced today with Lockheed Martin.
Similarly, after years of advocacy for Lockheed Martin to grow and maintain their presence in Syracuse and Central NY, in 2019, they were awarded one of its largest defense contracts in history on top of billions in additional contracts. Because of Schumer’s advocacy, Lockheed Martin has continued operation in Syracuse and is now stronger than ever, with the largest workforce at the plant in 10 years, even recently announcing their intent to hire an additional 300 people this year. This is on top of advocacy for their growth in other areas of upstate, including the Southern Tier where Schumer successfully helped secure a $1.2 billion contract for Lockheed Martin Owego to build a new fleet of Marine One helicopters that are used to transport the President of the United States.