Planning for growth, ‘high-wage’ jobs, Boise’s Micron works to build employee pipeline

Angela Palermo
·4 min read

Idaho’s largest for-profit employer wants to boost the region’s microchip workforce.

Micron announced a new partnership Monday with more than a dozen higher-education institutions across six states in the Northwest to drive more students into the semiconductor industry, part of an effort that’s related to the company’s $15 billion investment to build a memory manufacturing fab at its Southeast Boise headquarters.

The fab is expected to create more than 17,000 American jobs, including about 2,000 that Micron will need to hire.

The network of universities — which includes Boise State, Idaho and Idaho State — is operating under the STEMM Opportunity Alliance, a nationwide initiative led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science that got its start at a White House summit in December.

The goal is to better equip students for jobs in the chip industry.

“Public-private partnerships help the U.S. stay competitive in key technology areas and grow access to high-wage, good-quality jobs in every part of the country,” Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for technology, innovation and partnerships at the National Science Foundation, said in a news release about the network.

A student in the University of Idaho’s College of Engineering evaluates microelectronic device designs at U of I’s Moscow campus. The U of I is working with Micron to boost the semiconductor workforce in Idaho.
A student in the University of Idaho’s College of Engineering evaluates microelectronic device designs at U of I’s Moscow campus. The U of I is working with Micron to boost the semiconductor workforce in Idaho.

Micron also shared details about a $10 million partnership with the National Science Foundation to promote equity in education. That alliance looks to facilitate the professional development of K-12 science teachers, and address needs for recruiting, preparing and retaining elementary and secondary math and science teachers in “high-need” school districts.

Micron is the only memory manufacturer based in the U.S. Outside of Idaho, its partners in the workforce network are 10 universities across Washington, Oregon, California, Utah and Montana.

The company broke ground on the fab (semiconductor fabrication) at its Boise campus in September. Micron has plans for another, much larger “mega fab” in upstate New York that would cost it $100 billion over the next two decades.

The investments followed passage by Congress of the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden in August. The legislation authorized subsidies for semiconductor companies to expand in the U.S.

Micron, as of December, had about 6,000 workers in the Treasure Valley and 49,000 employees worldwide, but the company began laying off workers in February, with plans to reduce its global headcount by about 10% over the next year, according to previous reporting by the Idaho Statesman.

It’s unclear how many workers in Boise and Meridian, where Micron also has a facility, were affected by the cuts.

At Micron’s headquarters in Boise, where it was founded in 1978, the memory-chip maker operates its principal research and development center.

A Micron employee moves through a clean room at a fab on the memory-chip maker’s Southeast Boise campus in 2022.
A Micron employee moves through a clean room at a fab on the memory-chip maker’s Southeast Boise campus in 2022.

The technology is developed in Boise and the chips are manufactured at fabs in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, and assembled and tested in China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, a spokesperson for the company previously told the Statesman.

Micron broke ground in late May on a new child-care center at its Boise campus and held a ceremony with Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Boise Mayor Lauren McLean in attendance. The company said in a news release that the center would be operated by the Treasure Valley Family YMCA and located across from the company’s headquarters and planned fab. Micron said the center will help address barriers to workforce entry.

Micron also has plans to annex a big chunk of land south of its Boise campus to aid in the construction of the 600,000-square-foot fab, according to two pending applications filed with the city.

The first proposes adding 517 acres south of its Boise campus into the city’s area of impact, which is required for the land to be annexed into the city. The second application is to annex the land itself. In its first application, Micron included a 79-acre parcel to be designated as a planned community.

Scott Gatzemeier, corporate vice president of front-end U.S. expansion at Micron, told the Statesman in May that the 517 acres the company hopes to annex would support temporary construction activities for the fab.

As for the 79 acres, that land won’t be annexed just yet.

“We don’t know when it will be, but we do expect growth and encourage growth,” Gatzemeier said.

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