Intel Not Considering UK Chip Factory After Brexit
Intel not considering UK chip factory after Brexit:
The boss of Intel says the US chipmaker is no longer considering building a factory in the UK because of Brexit.
Pat Gelsinger told the BBC that before the UK left the EU, the country "would have been a site that we would have considered".
[...] Intel wants to boost its output amid a global chip shortage that has hit the supply of cars and other goods.
[...] "I have no idea whether we would have had a superior site from the UK," he said. "But we now have about 70 proposals for sites across Europe from maybe 10 different countries.
UK Public Now Eating Significantly Less Meat
UK public now eating significantly less meat:
[...] The new study, published in the journal the Lancet Planetary Health, revealed that while most people are eating less red and processed meat compared to a decade ago, they are eating more white meat.
High consumption of red and processed meat can increase the risk of health problems including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers.
Meat production also has a higher environmental impact - producing more planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions - than other types of agriculture and food production.
Journal Reverence:
Cristina Stewart, Carmen Piernas, Brian Cook, et al. Trends in UK meat consumption: analysis of data from years 1–11 (2008–09 to 2018–19) of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey rolling programme The Lancet Planet Health [Open]
(DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00228-X)
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @12:22PM (3 children)
A strange connection between the two stories.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @12:44PM (1 child)
Well... duh... it's fish and chips... not meat and chips.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday October 11 2021, @03:12PM
Back in the day, chips, especially 7400 series were all DIP chips. These chips packed without DIP is downright uncivilized.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 12 2021, @06:00AM
For anyone unacquainted with real English culture, rather than Prince Charles, bowler hats and James Bond... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2LrDzOwuOU [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Monday October 11 2021, @01:16PM (24 children)
Intel has let their chip production languish. I don't know who is to blame for this, but they have seriously screwed the pooch. From planning a new plant to having it actually in full production? That's easily a decade. In a decade, Intel could become nearly irrelevant, excepting only their huge portfolio of patents.
Threatening to maybe not build a plant somewhere, when they don't even have a long-list of candidates, much less a short-list? "Sound and fury, signifying nothing." More likely Mr. Gelsinger is trying to butter up the EU by beating on the UK, because maybe the EU isn't all that excited about what Intel is actually offering...
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Monday October 11 2021, @01:30PM (4 children)
TSM and Samsung, if someone is to blame that is. Intel just couldn't keep up in the race to make things smaller and smaller yet faster and faster and cramming more and more things onto it. The top producers are now really down to two-three companies and the rest are just falling by the side as they can't afford the constant upgrades and staying relevant anymore. Sophie Wilson of ARM (videos below) talked about it a few years ago how it was just fewer and fewer companies that have the production capabilities and how they are now constantly failing their own set timelines for when they'll produce new technology and chips made with smaller and smaller technology. A lot of it seems to be a heat issue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2SdSLCMKEA [youtube.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9mzmvhwMqw [youtube.com]
As noted tho a lot of companies are thinking about starting non-cutting edge semi conductor productions for normal items, cars and electronics etc due to the massive shortage and total reliance on the production of said chips being in China and Taiwan etc. So Siemens/Bosch/Philips and a lot of others are probably thinking about starting production facilities in Europe and similar just to get rid of the reliance of Asia for the production of vital components for their products.
----
So eating less meat in the UK. It's turning into an eco-paradise then? Lots of green fanatics would be so happy then. If they didn't at the same time hate Boris and Brexit so much. It's an unintended positive side effect of the lorry driver shortage?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Dr Spin on Monday October 11 2021, @02:22PM (1 child)
It's an unintended positive side effect of the lorry driver
No.
Its the obvious consequence of high inflation and low incomes. People can't afford to eat much meat.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 12 2021, @01:15PM
The BSE outbreak in the UK might also have contributed to discouraging a generation or two from consuming beef.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_BSE_outbreak [wikipedia.org]
And it doesn't look like it's gone away: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-58602051 [bbc.com]
So it's not really confidence inspiring.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Dr Spin on Monday October 11 2021, @02:28PM (1 child)
a lot of companies are thinking about starting non-cutting edge semi conductor productions for normal items
The majority of chips in a cars are (Intel) 8051 clones. No hi-tech there.
I am surprised no one is making PDP8 clones, when all you need is to look at one input and set another, they do the job, and with approx 1,000
gates (none of the Bill) they are really simple to make. Stop with the miniaturisation and get with 12V compatible I/O like it was in 1970, and all your
problems will go away. (skip the core memory though).
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Tuesday October 12 2021, @11:32AM
PDP-11 clone might be more useful. You could run Unix on it. If you can still get an old Unix that's small enough.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by HiThere on Monday October 11 2021, @01:48PM (4 children)
Good points, but BREXIT has made Britain a foolish choice for a major investment. There are going to be taxes on imports and taxes on exports that weren't there when it was a part of the EU.
P.S.: Intel is just one of many companies that have decided that Britain isn't a decent choice for a major investment. It's highlighted here because Intel makes important pieces of computers. Steel companies and auto companies have made similar decisions. I'd guess that others have also, and I just haven't happened to hear about them.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @02:53PM (3 children)
Stupid brinkmanship over Jahnson wanting to renege on the Brexit deal he signed - at any cost. Pretty much guaranteed that the UK will soon lose both Northern Ireland and Scotland within 15 years.
And lets not forget it's still Plague Island.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @04:38PM
It's it popcorn time yet? Not happening fast enough for me.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @06:01PM
If they were smart they'd just turn Scotland loose with a hearty pat on the back - and send the scots irish (Northern Ireland) with them. Let Scotland chew on that while the UK settles down to chat with the Free Wales Army and the Oo-arr-eh (Free Kernow!).
Lothian question? Solved!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 12 2021, @11:55AM
The thick white duke. It was the thin white duke (David Bowie) that was popular.
(Score: 5, Informative) by quietus on Monday October 11 2021, @04:07PM (8 children)
The European Commission was/is actually calling for 2nm production facilities by the end of this decade. Here is a critical look [stiftung-nv.de] at this (misguided, according to the author) effort. Mainly, there isn't a business case [for 2nm]: there's simply no European demand for 7 or 5nm production currently, and much of the chip design community/knowhow is located in the United States, who are unlikely to suddenly go ordering their chips from Europe.
To counter (a bit) that criticism: the production machinery comes from the Netherlands [hollandsemiconductors.nl], with the design and research for the next-generation happening there [asml.com] and in Belgium (1) [imec-int.com](2) [electronicsweekly.com] (they're now working on beyond 1 nm), while in Saxony, Germany alone, 2,600 companies / 60,000 employees [dw.com] are active in the sector.
Also, do not forget that a lot of chips [bosch.com] aren't used in laptops and servers, but have spread into just about every tool or piece of machinery/equipment you can think of (think electronic bike brakes and speed gear, for example).
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Monday October 11 2021, @04:41PM (7 children)
It doesn't seem too nutty a goal when you think of it in terms of security: There are well-justified concerns about spying hardware being snuck into chips and boards by their manufacturers' home countries. Plus there's the risk of the supply chain being interrupted if there's war or trade disputes, so having more domestic production would be valuable. EU nations have been pretty consistently comfortable with supporting other industries for strategic reasons like that, e.g. the big push towards renewable energy which is environmentally wise but also just happens to help protect them from Russian oil and gas shenanigans that have caused trouble for them in the past.
As for the chip design know-how, I have no doubt that the Europeans, with their top-notch educational systems and substantially higher degree of scientific literacy than the US, could get up to speed quickly. I also would be very surprised if there aren't EU citizens already working in chip design at US companies that would be delighted to take their talents and experience back home if the right job is available for them in Europe.
Plus this makes it a lot easier to ensure that design and production is done in accordance with EU expectations of quality control, human rights, labor rights, and environmental protections.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Monday October 11 2021, @05:18PM (6 children)
They won't, but they could.
"If".
There's a reason those people aren't in the EU. For all the flaws of the US, it still has a better business environment than the EU does.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday October 11 2021, @06:07PM (1 child)
My argument is based on the idea that chip designers are humans, not profit-maximizing robots, and so factors other than tax rates and profit margins matter, like:
- Living near family members.
- Better and cheaper health care.
- Better education for any kids they might have.
- Being able to communicate with most people using the language they grew up with in their everyday life.
- Being better able to enjoy their home country's culture and traditions.
And if you don't think that matters, ask yourself what it would take to convince you to live and work in Ulaanbaatar (or some other place far away and unfamiliar to you) for the rest of your career. Even if the after-tax pay was a bit better, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't immediately pack up and move.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday October 11 2021, @06:14PM
Also, none of that is going to help create a competitive business, the part two of your scenario.
(Score: 2) by quietus on Monday October 11 2021, @07:42PM (3 children)
If I may chime in: how do you define a "better business environment"?
About Europe getting quickly up to speed: my brother actually graduated as a VLSI engineer (Very Large Scale Integration, aka a 'chip designer'), in 1989 if I'm correct. (He also, coincidentally, worked at IMEC -- but as a programmer).
I don't know why, but it is a matter of fact that computer production (mainboard, cpu, ram, hdd) never seemed to have taken off in Europe (I can only recall AMD server cpu's and mainboards in the 2000s) yet telecom equipment and [electronics integration into] machinery did (or at least that's my impression).
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 12 2021, @01:05AM (2 children)
There's three areas that the EU has a harder time with. First, poor business creation. For example, when I glanced at IMEC on Wikipedia, I find that it started life as a government funded non profit. So right there is a typical EU problem - businesses getting created because of the connections of the founders to public funding sources, not because the product is useful or compelling.
Second, is a terrible labor environment. If labor is so scarce that labor unions are inherently powerful, that's one thing. But when they are because the laws and regulations put a thumb on the scale in favor of labor unions (and other institutional actors), it's a recipe for a stagnant work environment. Notice how like so much other high tech industry, the gig economy started in the US not in the EU. You'll never see a labor union think that way.
Third is competition. The EU has a bunch of peculiar regulations that just so happen to protect domestic industry. A classic example are the ISO 9000 series of business process standards. It's a shitshow, but those quality management processes are so beautifully documented! The standards create a barrier to entry for outside businesses in saner parts of the world (which I gather is really the whole point of the exercise), but it also creates a competitive disadvantage to the EU businesses that are trying to export from the EU to other parts of the world - which let us note is much bigger than the EU.
(Score: 2) by quietus on Tuesday October 12 2021, @08:10AM (1 child)
IMEC was born as part of industrial policy -- it fulfills a role akin to the United States' National Laboratories [nationallabs.org]. ASML, on the other hand, is not.
As to poor business creation: in 2018, 2.5 million new enterprises created 3.3 million jobs (in the EU [europa.eu]). In that same year, 1.9 million new jobs were created (by small businesses) in the US [sba.gov].
As to your ideas about labor unions: that seems to be rooted in the 60-70s, and then only for big companies and government. What do you mean with the 'gig economy', by the way, and what is its relation to high-tech?
ISO stands for International Standardization Organization. It was setup, if I recall correctly, to ensure parts (think screws and bolts) from Europe were compatible with those of the United States, and vice versa. I'm pretty sure the US has an extensive representation at that body. Besides, as far as I know, the ISO 9000 series of standards are voluntary. Few companies have them, but those that achieved them advertise them to prove they've reached a certain standard of excellence.
Anyhow, you are trolling me once again (I think): you've carefully avoided mentioning any of the true advantages of the United States, as a business environment.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 13 2021, @12:21PM
Except that it was established by a region that's part of Belgium and thus, can't fulfill a role akin to a EU-level organization. As to ASML, I think it more likely that the IC producers could make their own UV lithography than ASML could make their own ICs. It's patents that keep ASML as the sole provider.
Small businesses != new enterprises. There will be substantial big business in the EU total.
On labor unions, I think that is more an EU phenomenon than a khallow perception. I keep running across large, nation-scale labor unions every time I look at EU country economics.
As to the gig economy [wikipedia.org], which is that work is done something like web pages - stateless and ephemeral. In a normal job, you can't just up and quit without consequence (such as being rehired in a few days or weeks). With gig work, you can do that in five minutes after you finish your latest task without telling anyone.
Companies like Uber by necessity have to be high tech to handle the necessary complex, real time matching of need with gig labor supply.
The gimmick comes when EU countries voluntarily decide to adopt these standards, meaning that you have to voluntarily adopt them as well, if you want to do significant business with them or anyone else that voluntarily adopted the standards - they're somewhat sticky.
Like? I don't think, for example, that a common language is all that advantageous.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by bzipitidoo on Monday October 11 2021, @04:54PM (4 children)
Which is the worst pooch screw?
1) Brexit
2) Trump elected POTUS
3) Intel faltering on chip production
4) withdrawal from Afghanistan
5) Windows 11
6) Facebook friendliness to fascists
7) abortion outlawed in Texas
8) Support for DRM in HTML
9) c0loexit
(Score: -1, Troll) by Mockingbird on Monday October 11 2021, @09:22PM
I vote for 9) c0loexit. Cascading reverse causality makes it the cause of all the others.
(Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Tuesday October 12 2021, @01:22AM (2 children)
Your description of the abortion situation in Texas is dishonest, It's not outlawed, and the law was crafted with evil intent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 12 2021, @05:36AM (1 child)
they're still totally allowed to do it, it's just that any rando on the street that hears about it is allowed to sue them
because fuck standing apparently
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday October 15 2021, @05:44AM
How that law can be legal at all in mindboggling. Civil lawsuits were never intended for interfering in other people's private business. The complainant has not materially lost anything, there's nothing to sue for.
That SCOTUS hasn't nuked it is a terrible inditement of how messed up the US is.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Monday October 11 2021, @03:16PM
All of the covid vaccines that people are drinking contain microchips, which Intel was unprepared to meet production demands for.
don't drink the covid vaccines! The chips are needed for the government's secret brain implants that are still sooper sekrit.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @04:18PM (2 children)
...if you don't eat your meat?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @04:39PM
All in all, they're just chips in the store.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday October 11 2021, @08:22PM
I think the Brits may be starting to realize their offerings don't meet the appropriate standards [youtu.be] for "meat".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @05:06PM
No possible connection
(Score: 4, Funny) by tangomargarine on Monday October 11 2021, @07:41PM (5 children)
Well yeah, they probably got fed up during negotiations of the UK people insisting on calling the factory a "crisp manufacturer". *rimshot*
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 12 2021, @01:22PM (4 children)
It's the silly muricans who use the same word for two different types of food.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday October 12 2021, @08:24PM (3 children)
Oh really. And which word is that?
American chips = British crisps
American fries = British chips
American cookies = British biscuits
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 1, Troll) by FatPhil on Friday October 15 2021, @05:54AM (2 children)
UK cookies = US cookies
UK biscuits = US cookies
They're totally different things. Heck, the distinction is clear in the name (on the assumption you have any familiarity with any of the latinate languages).
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday October 15 2021, @09:12AM (1 child)
...Wow.
They're totally different things that go by the same name? And the distinction is clear because they're called literally the same thing? What?
Yeah this is totally not an ivory-tower dunk on opposition or anything. This is literally the first time I've heard anybody use the term "latinate"; maybe you could explain what the hell you mean by this entire sentence?
Maybe if you assume the person you're replying to is a moron, don't post in language that you know they won't understand?
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday October 15 2021, @12:11PM
Latinate? Well let's break it down - it's "Latin" plus "-ate". The former's obvious, and the latter is found as a way of turning any number of nouns into the concept of being related to that noun - it's very versatile: caliph->caliphate(n), asphyxia->asphyxiate(vt), latin->latinate(adj).
Anyway, with a latin-based view, let's examine "biscuit":
You're already familiar with "bi-", I'm sure, but this case is its less-seen runt twin, "bis-", again implying two-ness.
But what about "cuit" - doesn't say anything? Yeah, because it's not common, in all probability the only word you know starting "cui-" is "cuisine".
So, stick them together, and what have got? Twice cooked.
It's as simple as that. Biscuits, traditionally cooked twice, are dry and brittle, which contrasts against cookies that are moist and yielding.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by Username on Tuesday October 12 2021, @07:31AM
Moves onto country that will provide more givbs.