Biden visits Arizona: President 'tired of being at the end of the supply chain'

President Joe Biden, after cruising to victory in Tuesday's presidential preference election, switched from campaign mode into chief executive mode Wednesday, his second day in Arizona.

He appeared at a massive Intel Corp. campus in southwest Chandler to announce billions of dollars in grants to the semiconductor company. The funding, designed to rebuild America's technological leadership in semiconductors, could be spread among multiple Intel projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon, with Arizona receiving one of the largest commitments.

Fighter jet responds to flight restriction violation during Biden's visit to Arizona

An Arizona fighter jet responded to an unidentified threat during a temporary flight restriction during President Biden's trip to Arizona Wednesday morning, according to the North American Aerospace Defense.

At about 7:30 a.m., radar in Phoenix detected a "track of interest" that was not in communication with air traffic control during a temporary flight restriction issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to NORAD.

The detection caused NORAD to deploy an F-15 aircraft that was ultimately unable to identify the threat, according to Michael Dougherty, public affairs specialist with Continental United States NORAD Region.

"As far as I can tell, there isn't much to investigate because they couldn't identify anything," Dougherty said.

Dougherty added the reason for the announcement of the possible threat and response was because Valley residents may have noticed the fighter jet as it flew at an altitude of about 7,000 feet.

A spokesperson for Luke Air Force Base said they had no report of the incident or the deployment of a F-15.

— Rey Covarrubias Jr. 

Biden departure delays Loop 101 traffic

Loop 101 saw delays Wednesday afternoon in order to accommodate President Joe Biden's departure from Phoenix.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety said that the highway leading up to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport will be among the areas that are closed off. It was not specified how long the area would be closed off and the agency did not provide further details.

— Dylan Wickman

Biden departs from Phoenix Sky Harbor

Air Force One took off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport just before 2 p.m. on Wednesday, wrapping up Biden's trip to metro Phoenix.

Prior to his Wednesday visit to Intel, Biden attended a campaign in Phoenix that kicked off a new campaign initiative called Latinos con Biden-Harris, which aims to "engage and mobilize Latino voters, communities, and leaders across the country."

— Abigail Beck

Biden 'tired of being at the end of the supply chain' on semiconductors

A desire to lessen America's dependence on advanced semiconductors also factored into his talk during the sunny and warm noontime hour. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the country's vulnerability to supply chain disruptions, Biden said. Advanced chip manufacturing is making a comeback in America after 40 years.

"If it was invented in America, it ought to be made in America," he said, in reference to semiconductors.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo earlier said Biden is "tired of being at the end of the supply chain," adding that the CHIPS Act funding is designed to change that.

The administration seeks to have 20% of advanced semiconductors made in this country by the end of the decade, up from none currently, she added.

— Laura Gersony

Biden says his administration 'ignited a manufacturing boom in America'

President Joe Biden took the stage just after noon on Tuesday at Intel's Ocotillo Campus in Chandler to announce a multi-billion dollar grant for the company to build out semiconductor manufacturing.

Speaking to a crowd of hundreds of people, Biden portrayed the grant as evidence that his economic program has begun to work.

His program of targeted investments in U.S. industry, which the White House has dubbed the 'Investing in America' program, has "ignited a manufacturing boom in America, a clean energy boom, a jobs boom, all here in America, finally," the president said.

"We have more to do. I get it: we have more to do. But no question, our plan of delivering for the American people is working now."

Construction spending on manufacturing has roughly doubled since 2021, according to U.S. Department of Treasury data.

— Laura Gersony

Biden in Arizona: Why 'chips' are one of the most important projects of his presidency

Intel CEO touts CHIPS Act as 'investment in America'

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, with construction of the tech giant’s new plant as a backdrop, told the crowd awaiting the remarks of President Joe Biden that his CHIPS and Science Act investment would usher in ‘the next great chapter of innovation.”

Biden was at the Chandler plant to announce an $8.5 billion grant to Intel to build cutting-edge microchips.

“What an investment in America,” Gelsinger said. “What an investment in the future.”

Touting Arizona as the Silicon Desert, the tech boss said the timing of that investment, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the supply chain crisis it caused, “couldn’t be more critical.”

He added: “This is a once-in-a-generation defining moment.”

— Sean Holstege

No protesters in Chandler for Biden's Intel visit

Biden's visit to Intel's Ocotillo Campus in Chandler on Wednesday drew no protesters to the tech manufacturing plant.

Nearby Dobson and Ocotillo roads only stayed busy with the daily commuters ahead of Biden's arrival in south Chandler.

A United States flag hung from a construction crane adjacent to the stage where Biden would give his speech.

— Rey Covarrubias Jr.

Biden tours Intel facilities

Before he was scheduled to deliver remarks, President Joe Biden toured parts of Intel’s facilities in Chandler.

The tour included a stop in a room usually used for semiconductor manufacturing.

Biden’s entourage included Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger.

Five chip “wafers” were displayed on the table in front of Biden.

“I was stunned at how thin the fibers are,” Biden said, holding one of the wafers.

“I’ll be darned,” he said. “You’re bringing the future back to America.”

The president has touted the CHIPS and Science Act, which he signed in 2022, as part of his efforts to revitalize American manufacturing.

— Laura Gersony

Intel exec projects 2025 marketplace entry, says federal money ‘definitely not a bailout’ 

Intel expects its advanced chips from CHIPS Act funding to start showing up in the marketplace by 2025.

Keyvan Esfarjani, Intel's chief operations officer, also bristled at one reporter's question about the need for a well-capitalized company like Intel to need $8.5 billion in federal grants. "This is definitely not a bailout," he said. "Intel is investing billions of dollars ourselves."

Esfarjani said there's often a 13-times multiplier effect of local communities, meaning that each dollar invested by Intel in Chandler will engender $13 in other investments from local suppliers and even secondary firms like hotels.

"When we come (to a community), the suppliers come with us," he said.

— Russ Wiles

Intel exec stresses importance of domestic supply chain 

Keyvan Esfarjani, Intel's chief operations officer, emphasized the need for the U.S. to re-establish dominance in advanced semiconductors, partly for national security reasons.

"More than 90% of the advanced chips are currently made outside the U.S.," he told reporters covering the event. "That is definitely not OK."

Esfarjani also emphasized the need to develop more of a domestic supply chain for this critical industry.

— Russ Wiles

Roughly 40% of new jobs won’t require a college degree, Intel says 

While the focus of the CHIPS Act and Intel's involvement centers on expanding U.S. manufacturing of advanced semiconductors, many of the jobs that will be created won't require a college education. Around 40% could involve technician positions, company officials said.

Christy Pambianchi, Intel's chief people officer, encouraged potential applicants to see what's available on the company's website. She also emphasized the company's training and apprenticeship program through the Maricopa Community College system.

Pambianchi said those programs are a way for people who lack a college degree to gain employment with the company. Even current Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger started as a technician at a company plant in California, she said.

— Russ Wiles

Biden visit prompts focus on workers’ rights 

President Joe Biden's visit already has resulted in calls for treating workers well.

In a news release Wednesday morning, a coalition of labor and environmental groups asked Intel to sign agreements they say will ensure workers and surrounding communities around the new projects “have a fair deal.”

The coalition includes the Sierra Club, an environmental group, and the United Auto Workers, one of the nation’s larger unions with outsize political clout in the swing state of Michigan.

Taking questions from press on Wednesday morning, top Intel officers didn’t directly answer whether such an agreement would be on the table.

“We have a longstanding history of working very closely with all the communities within which we operate. We’ve been here in Arizona for over 40 years,” said Christy Pambianchi, Chief People Officer at Intel. “It’s hard to tell where Intel and the communities are separated. For us, that’s just a way of doing business.”

While running for president in 2020, President Joe Biden said he would ensure federal contracts only go to employers that sign an agreement saying they won’t oppose unionization efforts, also known as a “neutrality agreement.”

— Russ Wiles and Laura Gersony

Why Intel? What to know 

Intel is the world’s second-largest producer of semiconductor chips, which are basically tiny brains that help power everything from cellphones to air conditioners.

It set up shop in Chandler in 1980 and the city is now home to Intel’s only two large-scale facilities in Arizona. The company generates nearly $9 billion in statewide economic impact each year.

The company also is spending $20 billion to expand one of its Chandler facilities. It will make the local campus Intel’s largest manufacturing complex anywhere on earth at a time when the world needs a secure supply of chips more than ever.

The company’s two main facilities in Chandler are called the Ocotillo campus and the Chandler campus. The Ocotillo campus is almost exclusively focused on manufacturing semiconductors.  The Ocotillo site is massive. It’s made up of more than a dozen buildings and occupies roughly 700 acres in southwest Chandler.

— Sam Kmack

How big a deal is the microchip industry in Arizona? 

It’s huge. Metro Phoenix is one of the nation’s hubs for this technology.

Since January 2020, 35 companies in the semiconductor industry have announced plans to expand or relocate to Arizona, representing $65 billion in investment, according to data from the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Those companies include massive fabrication facilities, like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel, which are both underway on multi-billion-dollar projects to manufacture semiconductors in Phoenix and Chandler. The list also includes dozens of smaller companies that work in the supply chain, including chemical manufacturers, packaging, transportation and other areas that serve the industry.

In total, the companies represent more than 13,000 jobs, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority.

— Corina Vanek

Did other presidents visit Arizona microchip plants? 

Yes. Biden and former President Barack Obama have both come to the Valley to promote chip manufacturing plants.

In December 2022, Biden visited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s north Phoenix campus for the “tool in” ceremony. At the ceremony, Biden and TSMC executives also announced the expansion of the facility, growing the investment from $12 billion to $40 billion.

Obama visited Intel’s campus in January 2012. At the time, the plant was under construction on a $5 billion expansion. Obama used the visit to emphasize the need for domestic manufacturing.

Obama's visit was remembered for a tense encounter with then-Gov. Jan Brewer, who stuck her finger in the president's face not long after Air Force One landed.

— Corina Vanek

What is the CHIPS Act? 

The CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law in August 2022. It paved the way for investment of $53 billion into semiconductor manufacturing and research around the country.

The law was a significant step for Arizona's semiconductor industry, which has been rapidly growing since Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced plans to build a massive factory in Phoenix in 2020.

The Arizona Commerce Authority and other organizations formed the Arizona Small-Scale Supplier Consortium, aimed at showing the importance of individual suppliers in Arizona.

About 20 companies are taking part in the supplier consortium, an ACA spokesperson said. In total those companies represent about $1.8 billion in investment and expect to create 3,800 jobs.

— Corina Vanek

What is President Biden doing at Intel in Chandler?

Biden was to appear at Intel Corp.’s Ocotillo campus to announce funding from the CHIPS Act for cutting-edge microchip production.

Intel, already one of Arizona's largest employers, will receive up to $8.5 billion in federal grants as part of a preliminary agreement to be announced by President Biden and U.S. Commerce Department officials. The grants would mark one of the largest-ever semiconductor manufacturing investments.

The $8.5 billion in CHIPS funding that Intel stands to receive, in addition to up to $11 billion in federal loans, will help expand two fabs, or factories, in Chandler. It will also help bring the company's most advanced semiconductors to the market. Building factories like these "are like building a city," said Keyvan Esfarjani, Intel's chief operations officer.

Over the next five years, Intel expects to invest more than $100 billion in the U.S. as it expands capacity in Arizona and the other three states, with an estimated creation of more than 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs.

The proposal also calls for about $50 million to develop the company's semiconductor and construction workforces.

— Russ Wiles

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Joe Biden in Arizona: Recap of presidential visit