Micron has disclosed another major postponement for its fabs near Clay, New York, which will pull out the facilities coming online only in late 2033, reports Syracuse, citing recently released documents from Micron. The delay, if true, marks a major struggle for a major semiconductor production cluster that was once set to start production in 2025 in the state of New York. But while the company delays its fabs near Clay, it is accelerating its Idaho fabs and reallocating CHIPS Act funding to that facility.
According to Micron's officially released draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documentation back in June (see the image below for the possibly outdated schedule), the construction phase for the first fab (Fab 1) would start from late 2026 (after a year of preparations that start in late 2025, according to the company's U.S. expansion plan unveiled on July 1, 2025) and will last till the second half of 2028, or early 2029. It usually takes 12 to 24 months to fully equip a fab, depending on various factors; hence, it is reasonable to expect the first fab to start DRAM production sometime in 2030, five years later than initially expected.
The same environmental documentation pins Fab 2's construction start to the second half of 2028, Fab 3's construction start to the second half of 2033, and Fab 4's construction start to the first half of 2039. This way, the Micron Clay campus will be fully built and ramped to full production by 2045, which is five years behind schedule.
"Micron would mobilize for initial site preparation for the Proposed Project beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the first two DRAM manufacturing facilities (Fabs 1 and 2) estimated to be operational by 2029 and 2030, respectively, and the remaining fabs (Fabs 3 and 4) estimated to be operational by 2035 and 2041," a statement by Micron from the EIS submitted in June reads.
However, it looks like Micron's New York project faces another major delay, if the information from Syracuse is correct.
The latest environmental documentation obtained by Syracuse, but not available officially, the construction phase for the initial fab will now span about four years instead of three, pushing the Fab 1 completion to late 2030, instead of the second half of 2028. This will naturally push back the entire project, as well as the hiring and operational schedules. The new plan is said to have been approved by the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, which means site preparation can move forward while regulators review the next phase of approvals and tax incentives.
Micron reportedly did not specify the reasons for the revised timeline, but acknowledged an amendment to its $6.1 billion CHIPS Act funding agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce. The modification is said to extend Micron's operational start window by approximately 2 years in New York, as the company reportedly brings forward its ID2 facility in Idaho. The two Idaho facilities — one existing and one planned — will be completed ahead of those in Clay, indicating a strategic reshuffling of project priorities.
As part of the alleged realignment, Micron redirected about $1.2 billion of its federal grant from New York to Idaho, reducing Clay's share from $4.6 billion to $3.4 billion. The company reportedly indicated that the update was consistent with evolving project requirements under the federal agreement. Local authorities, including Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, reportedly attributed the delay to widespread labor shortages and the longer construction cycles that have become common in U.S. semiconductor projects.
The realignment of the New York project — if there is one — probably does not affect Micron's ultimate goal of producing 40% of its DRAM output in the U.S., as the company prioritizes one project after another rather than delaying new fabs altogether. Meanwhile, prioritizing fab ID2 will positively affect Micron's HBM output in the U.S., as the company also intends to build an advanced packaging facility for HBM and other memory types that require stacking and advanced packaging in Idaho.
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