County amends lease with Intel, addresses layoff concerns

Unclear if New Mexico jobs are on the chopping block as part of mass Intel layoffs

Intel Corp. said Thursday it plans to cut more than 15% of its workforce as it tries to turn…

The Sandoval County Commission approved an ordinance to amend its lease with Intel at the Sept. 12 meeting, but not before asking some hard questions, particularly about layoffs the company announced in August.

The original lease between Sandoval County and Intel Corporation was signed and dated Oct. 26, 2004, and was first amended and extended in 2019. That first amendment extended Intel's spending period by five years under the Industrial Revenue Bond.

A second amendment to the lease was proposed in order to extend the completion date of the project, increase payments in lieu of taxes, adjust the existing provision relating to the delivery of a surety bond in connection with the protection of certain environmental indemnities, and permit the county to acknowledge Intel’s interest in certain federal benefits in connection with the potential expansion of a chip facility.

"It extends the spending period or completion date from October 25 of this year to October 25 of 2034, which is the end of the Industrial Revenue Bond. So basically what you're doing is allowing them between the first amendment, second amendment and the original an entire 30 years to spend up to about $4.7 billion remaining of the original $16 billion IRB," Rob Burpo, county financial advisor, said.

In spending this money, Intel will also provide reports of spending to the county assessor's office on an orderly basis, according to Burpo.

"The county felt that it was a good idea not to put any kind of restrictions on their ability to spend. We're trying to encourage them to spend as much money in the county as possible," he said.

Another factor Burpo says is essential is allowing the county to work with the federal government to make sure some of the loans and grant programs are available to Intel under the 2022 CHIPS Act.

"That CHIPS Act was designed to encourage domestic development and manufacturing of chips in order to make sure that we have a good supply chain of chips domestically as well as to counteract the impacts of China's expanse in the CHIPS program," he said.

Burpo added that the county is encouraging Intel to relocate or expand within Sandoval County.

"That will benefit the company as well as the county," he said.

He says they also encourage Intel help with local economic development locally, and Intel will pay the fees as required by law.

Burpo says the amendments will not only impact the globe, but also directly impact Rio Rancho, Corrales and the surrounding areas.

Commissioners had questions, but they asked that Intel's local administration come up to answer them.

Commissioner Jay Block asked about the current number of employees and contractors at Intel. Intel's representative said they have 3,000 contractors and 3,000 full-time employees. He added they are looking to hire more engineers and technicians in all areas of expertise, like electrical, mechanical, etc.

"Any AI or cyber?" Block asked.

They responded by simply saying "potentially.".

Block went on to thank Intel, calling them a great partner with the county.

Commissioner Josh Jones asked about new businesses and any lead generation coming from Intel.

Burpo explained that they were generic with Intel on that front purposefully so Intel could relocate some of their global operations to Sandoval County and increase that work without it being restricted to or limited to their business partners.

He was also concerned about any upcoming layoffs Intel will have.

Intel confirmed that they announced the layoffs Aug. 1. An Intel representative reassured Jones that the layoffs were all related to human resources and they don't expect to see a net reduction in employment. Instead, they say local employment numbers will go up because they are moving technology development resources from Oregon to Sandoval County.

The commissioners unanimously passed the amended ordinance.