Solid-state memory chip company Solidigm plans to move 1,900 employees into a research and development campus in Rancho Cordova over the next five years.
The first employees would start working in the campus in the first quarter next year, with an average wage of $180,000, according to the company.
The decision for San Jose-based Solidigm to locate its new campus in Rancho Cordova is “absolutely a win for the region,” said Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, a group that recruits companies to open operations in Sacramento.
Solidigm represents one of the largest semiconductor employment additions in the state in recent years, and it is the largest addition of high-wage jobs in the Sacramento region over the last decade, said Michelle Willard, chief public affairs officer for GSEC.
The addition of Solidigm’s operation adds to the existing chip industry in the region, including the large R&D offices in Folsom of Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) and Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU).
“We’re not just a one-trick pony with Intel,” Broome said.
He anticipates more global and Silicon Valley semiconductor companies will be motivated to develop domestic operations with the Chips and Science Act of 2022. The new law, signed by President Joe Biden last month, encourages domestic development and production of semiconductor chip technology, backed by more than $52 billion in spending plus access to tax breaks and tax credits for domestic research and manufacturing investments.
“We have a story that we are becoming a cluster in research and development in semiconductors,” Broome said.
Solidigm is currently working on tenant improvements to the 230,000-square-foot R&D campus and is targeting a move-in date in the first quarter of 2023. It's moving into three buildings in the White Rock Corporate Campus, Willard said.
“It has been a pleasure to work with the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, the city of Rancho Cordova and Solidigm to bring this project together,” said Scott Stranzl, chief portfolio officer for Basin Street Properties, owner of the campus, in an email. “Basin Street has been excited about the Rancho Cordova region for a considerable period of time and it’s wonderful to see Solidigm recognize the same outstanding features we do and make such a significant commitment to the region."
Solidigm is a new company created in December when South Korean memory chip maker SK hynix Inc. bought Intel's flash memory business.
Solidigm has nearly 2,000 employees in 20 locations around the world.
In Rancho Cordova, Solidigm is creating office space for some of the teams it picked up from Intel’s Folsom campus and potentially other locations. And it's adding space for potential new hires.
The jobs are a net gain for the region, Willard said, because Intel is backfilling positions in its Folsom campus.
Intel’s local campus has more than 5,300 employees. It's the region's largest tech employer. The local Micron offices employ about 300.
The Rancho Cordova Solidigm location will include engineering, sales, marketing, communications, human resources, operations and finance, among other departments, the company said.
