EU Approves State Aid for German AMD Plant

The European Commisson has approved German government aid worth €544 million ($680 million) for the California-based microchip company Advanced Micro Devices, which wants to build a wafer factory in the easter city of Dresden. The EU is allowing Germany’s federal government and the eastern German state of Saxony to pay about 23 percent of the cost of a new microchip plant worth in total to €2.4 billion, according to the Associated Press. The aid, which includes loan guarantees, will create about 1,000 direct jobs, as well as additional employment for support workers, a AMD spokesman said. German authorities are trying to promote Dresden as a technology center and last year, AMD was among a group of companies to win subsidies worth €98 million for other microchip projects in the Dresden area.