GlobalFoundries has invested $1.03 billion over the past seven years to purchase building materials and manufacturing equipment for its Malta, New York, factory, as the company competes to produce the most advanced computer chips in the world.

The world's second largest contract chip maker also has hired nearly 3,000 employees at the Saratoga County plant since construction began in the summer of 2009.

The latest tally on GlobalFoundries' investments became available this week after the company filed its six-month report with the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency.

"It really shows how fortunate we are to have that kind of investment in the county," said Richard Ferguson, chief executive of the industrial development agency.

During its first year of construction, GlobalFoundries invested $47.3 million buying building materials, furniture and manufacturing equipment. Since then, annual spending has been anywhere from $50 million to $230 million.

All counted, those purchases have helped the company qualify for $71.8 million on sales tax exemptions.

The industrial development agency report also gives the latest estimates on the company's payroll in Malta. Employment has grown from 220 employees at the end of 2010 to 2,904 workers at the end of last year. As of the end of June, GlobalFoundries employed 2,943 people in Malta. Currently, there are 106 openings.

Greg Connors, the GlobalFoundries director of local government relations, said annual payroll in Malta has grown to more than $300 million, not including the 500 or so contractors who are on site installing and maintaining computer chip manufacturing equipment.

The company reached a milestone last summer when the majority of construction was completed, which led to a sharp reduction in the number of construction subcontractors working at the site.

The number of construction workers grew from 189 workers in 2009 to as high as 1,556 workers in 2014. Last year, a total of 677 subcontractors were working at the site. The only major construction underway is the remaining work on the $2 billion development of the company's technology development center. A total of 67 construction workers are wrapping up that project.

By: DocMemory
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