Saratoga County Company Secures $117 Million Department of Defense Contract

The United States Department of Defense announced Monday they are awarding a $117 million contract to a Saratoga County technology fabrication business.

GlobalFoundries, which is headquartered in Malta, will produce semiconductors for national security systems in defense and aerospace under the deal. As part of the contract, GlobalFoundries’ production operations in East Fishkill will now move to Malta, where the company currently employs 3,000.

Semiconductors, colloquially called microchips, make up the “brains” of modern technology, from toys to fighter jets. Supply chain issues and COVID-19 surges and lockdowns in Asia have led to a worldwide semiconductor shortage, most heavily felt in the civilian markets in the automotive industry. This Department of Defense contract is designed to ensure a steady, pre-designated, domestic supply of 45 nanometer chips.

In a press release, GlobalFoundries CEO Tom Caulfield says the partnership, “boosts the national economy, while also securing a strategic and reliable supply of chips needed by the U.S. government for aerospace, defense, and other mission-critical applications.”

This adds to a 2021 DoD semiconductor contract with GlobalFoundries for $8 million, and a $25 million government grant to develop quantum computers in conjunction with the Air Force and a Silicon Valley tech firm.

GlobalFoundries already presented their facility expansion concept designs to the Malta planning board last week. The second factory adds more than 350,000 square feet of production space and 1,000 new jobs. They seek classified status for the campus and its projects.

The first semiconductors from this deal will be completed and delivered by next year.