Central and Upstate New York are home to the site of Micron's next set of chip fabrication plants. A $100 billion promise that begs questions on how it'll happen and who will be prepared to work there.

How much money is $100 billion? Wrapping our heads around Micron's promise to Clay and Central New York

Fran Dillard, the semiconductor company's chief diversity inclusion officer, has visited Onondaga County, including meetings with school superintendents, business owners and elected leaders. She is getting a feel for who makes up this community and who could one day be applying to work at Micron.

We want the community to see themselves reflected. We want the community to be a part of how we are shaping the future in the Central New York area.

Micron's 2023 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion report shows more than half the company's U.S. workforce is white. Followed by 28% percent Asian and 4% percent Black and Hispanic.

Dillard says many areas need improvement and Micron is working to get more women excited about the industry.

About 31% of Micron's 43,000 global workers are women, which is less than a third, but Dillard says that exceeds the industry average.

"This has been a tough industry, in terms of representation of women, but we have been intentional in those areas and creating an environment where women can thrive and do their best work."

Micron is preparing younger generations for tech jobs

CNY Central's past reporting points to that becoming a growing challenge. A 2023 report from the New York State Comptroller's Office suggests losses in fourth grade math and reading scores were double the national average.

This troubling data has Micron leaders focusing on being part of the solution, "The data is real, I'm not saying the data is not real. But the opportunity to change and transform that data is where the opportunity and the possibilities are," Dillard says.

By: DocMemory
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