Globalfoundries doubles investment spending

$5.4 billion in 2011

Globalfoundries is planning to double spending on factories in 2011 to $5.4 billion, from $2.7 billion last year.

CFO Robert Krakauer announced that the money will be used to upgrade existing fabs in Dresden and continue the construction of Globalfoundries’ new plant in upstate New York. In addition, some of the cash will be used to plan a new factory in Abu Dhabi, which comes as no surprise considering Abu Dhabi’s involvement in Globalfoundries.

While this announcement might be overshadowed by recent news from AMD, it is clear that Globalfoundries has rather ambitious plans. Krakauer noted that the new investment plans were based on customer programs and requests, adding that they are not speculative. For comparison, TSMC’s investing spending in 2010 was $5.9 billion, while Intel spent $5.2 billion.

2011 will clearly be a significant year for Globalfoundries. The company is transitioning to the new 32nm process and it has already taped out AMD’s first 32nm parts. In addition, Globalfoundries will churn out most of AMD’s Fusion parts and let’s not forget other customers, such as Qualcomm and STMicroelectronics.

More here.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-10/globalfoundries-to-double-spending-on-plants-equipment-in-2011.html