The head of Intel's Irish business is set to depart his role to oversee the development of the chip giant's new manufacturing facility in Germany.
Intel Ireland general manager Eamonn Sinnott is taking the job in Magdeburg on an interim basis, bringing his experience in developing manufacturing sites to the new project.
There are no immediate plans to replace Mr Sinnott as head of Ireland, effectively leaving the role vacant for the time being. However, Intel’s top Irish executive Ann-Marie Holmes, co-general manager of Fab manufacturing, is based in Ireland.
Staff were informed of the development in recent days.
Intel announced in March it would develop a new manufacturing facility at the greenfield site in east Germany, investing an initial €17 billion in the “mega-fabs” as they attempt to produce chips smaller than two nanometres, something that Intel has yet to achieve.
Ireland missed out on becoming the home for the semiconductor factory sites, getting €12 billion in funding instead to expand its existing manufacturing operations here.
Mr Sinnott was appointed vice-president and general manager of Intel Ireland in 2010. Prior to that, he held a number of roles at Intel since joining the company in 1991, including almost five years as manufacturing manager before moving over to Fab24 at the Leixlip facility.
Under his stewardship of Intel’s Irish business, the company established a new silicon design team in Leixlip that later led to the design and development of the Quark system on a chip. It also played an integral role in bringing 14 nanometre process technology to Intel’s global customers.
The first chipmaking tool for the upcoming Fab34, due to open in 2023, was delivered to Leixlip in January. The new facility will add 1,600 jobs at the Kildare campus, bringing the total number of people employed directly at the campus to more than 6,500.
