Even though many companies are trying hard to transfer manufacturing operations to Asia in order to cut costs, Intel Corp. on Tuesday said it would invest $7 billion to build 32nm manufacturing facilities in the United Stated.

“We’re investing in America to keep Intel and our nation at the forefront of innovation. These manufacturing facilities will produce the most advanced computing technology in the world. The capabilities of our 32nm factories are truly extraordinary, and the chips they produce will become the basic building blocks of the digital world, generating economic returns far beyond our industry,” said Paul Otellini, chief executive officer of Intel.

Intel's investment will be made at existing manufacturing sites in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico and will support approximately 7000 high-wage, high-skill jobs at those locations – part of a total Intel workforce of more than 45 thousand in the U.S. Intel, while generating more than 75% of its sales overseas, carries out roughly 75% of its semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. At the same time, about 75% of the company's R&D spending and capital investments are also made in the U.S.

The first Intel processors to be built using this technology are codenamed Westmere and will initially be used in desktop and mobile mainstream systems. Westmere family combines Intel's latest high-performance micro-architecture with graphics capability integrated into the processor (Clarkdale version of Westmere breed of chips). As a result, computer manufacturers will be able to increase performance and simplify system manufacturing compared to current systems.

Tags: Intel, Clarkdale, Westmere, 32nm, Semiconductors