Anyone see this? Silicon Heartland

[Bob from Omaha]

https://omaha.com/news/local/business/cluster-of-tech-companies-eye-omaha-fremont-for-potential-semiconductor-project/article_2528b31c-1051-11ee-aa44-37e191419711.html

[Garrett]

Well that’s very exciting.

[skinzfan23]

I did see it yesterday, but at this time there weren't a ton of details. Either way, that could be an exciting development.

[ita]

For those who may not be able to read the article, the owner of Nantero, the semiconductor company that was/is in talks with Senator McDonnell about a possible chip factory in east Nebraska, said that they and other companies are looking to form a tech cluster in Omaha and Fremont. Nebraska is one of several possible locations, so if it happens, it may land elsewhere. They are projecting 1500 to 3000 jobs. Fremont, North Omaha, and Bellevue were identified as possible site locations. Fremont is on the list because it was been working on establishing an inland port authority. The project is dependent on Chips Act money, which isn't expected to be awarded until late 2023 or 2024, so likely won't hear anything more until next year, is my guess.

[Ben]

I would assume this is the project that necessitated the "workforce development" for a major semi-conductor manufacturing site that was passed at the end of the legislature session...

[Athomsfere]

This would be a great win for the metro, and state.

Being pessimistic though: Not sure how Omaha / Nebraska could really pull this off. Very low unemployment, brain drain issues that I suspect the current state politics will only make worse... Where do we really expect that many people to come from? $20 million for 1500 trainees is still only like $13k per head in training if that's it.

I suspect these aren't insurmountable problems, but maybe more of a headache than other states / metros would represent.

[ricko]

Except for the state’s regressive politics, much of the rest of the country is having the same issues. The upside———wage competition. I know someone in cyber security who recently negotiated his starting salary from 85k to 105k, and he’s a recent college grad——and English is his second language. It’s an employee’s market, and I’ve only seen that phenomenon a few times in my life. If a company can offer a better wage, people will switch, and I think that’s just fine.