NEW ALBANY, Ohio — When Intel announced last month it was bringing its business to Ohio, the corporation made a lot of promises to the state while being assured significant benefits in return. Intel has made similar deals elsewhere in the past and so the question is, has the company lived up to its word with other cities and states?

What You Need To Know

  • Intel is building two plants in Licking County, which is estimated to bring 3,000 jobs to the area

  • The state has promised $2 billion in incentives to lure Intel to Ohio

  • Officials said that some of those incentives could be scaled back if Intel does not fulfill its promises

Intel says it will make the largest single private sector investment Ohio has ever seen by creating 3,000 jobs and pouring in more than $20 billion to build two chip manufacturing sites in Licking County. In exchange, the state is giving over $2 billion in incentives, through grants and tax credits, to Intel.​

“This incentive is performance based, so if Intel fails to deliver on their commitments, which we’re very confident that they won’t, they will not be eligible for the grant and so we would have a discussion then, of course, of disbursed funds that would be clawed back,” ​Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, said a few weeks ago.

Intel has employees all over the world and different hubs in five other states. One of them is New Mexico.

Matt Geisel is the city manager of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, just outside Albuquerque, which is where Intel built its first chip plant in the Land of Enchantment in 1980.

“They’re a great community partner, very forthright in communicating with us as things change and evolve at the plant,” Geisel said. “(They) work closely on everything from, you know, the need for, you know, addressing the signal of a traffic signal to, you know, long-range planning.”

Intel has invested more than $16 billion in its New Mexico operation. The corporation also announced a $3.5 billion expansion of its complex at the end of last year. 

“They continue to grow and you know, they’ve had some cyclicality, but you know, they come back and they bounce back and reinvest,” Geisel said. 

Intel has also pushed its employees to be engaged in the community, Geisel added.

“One of the cool things they do for every hour that an employee, you know, volunteers at a nonprofit, Intel will provide a cash donation for that hour or so. They put a lot of money back into the community, helping nonprofits,” Geisel said. 

The company must employ a certain percentage of New Mexicans each year. If they don’t hit that mark, they have to make a donation to local school districts. The company said it currently employs 1,800 New Mexicans and has given more than $9 million in charity to schools and nonprofits since 2015.

“They’ve expanded, reinvested, re-expanded, reinvested multiple times over those 40 years,” Geisel said. 

In Ohio’s deal, Intel has similar obligations. But like Mihalik mentioned before, if they do not honor them, the state can recoup some of its money. Geisel said Intel has followed through in New Mexico and it should be a big win for Ohio.

“I think it’s fantastic. You know, I wish we had the land adjoining next to their facility here, so they could have done that expansion right here in New Mexico. I think Ohio should be pretty happy. You know, they should be pretty happy with this victory for their state,” said Geisel.

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