Wolfspeed and ZF put German chip factory on ice [Video]

US chipmaker Wolfspeed and the auto supplier ZF have put plans for a semiconductor factory in Germany on ice, local officials said Wednesday, striking another blow to Berlin’s chipmaking ambitions.

The project was “not abandoned, but pushed back on the timeline to an indefinite point in time”, said Anke Rehlinger, the leader of the western region of Saarland where the factory was set to be built.

Wolfspeed had told officials the group was “committed” to Saarland but “postponing the investment to an unspecified date”, Rehlinger said at a press conference.

The delay to the factory, which was intended to break ground next year, comes after other planned investments by chipmakers in Germany have been thrown up in the air.

US chip giant Intel said in September it would push back a planned project in Germany by around two years due to “anticipated market demand” that was lower than previously thought.

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