CANTON – Corning’s Canton facility is set to receive a major $32 million investment that’s expected to create 130 new manufacturing jobs, but final authorization is still needed.

The expansion is also expected to bring 175 construction jobs to the area to facilitate the work.

After visiting Canton following the passage of his bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law and promising it would supercharge the demand for Corning’s critical technology and deliver big for the North Country, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Corning Incorporated has reached an up to $32 million preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) funding agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce to increase production at their Canton facility of specialized glass vital for the semiconductor industry.

The PMT outlines key terms for Corning Incorporated’s CHIPS agreement, but to finalize the federal CHIPS agreement, the Commerce Department will now begin a comprehensive due diligence process on the proposed project and other information contained in the application. 

After satisfactory completion of the due diligence phase, the Commerce Department will finalize the PMT.

Schumer said this expansion, which will help strengthen this vital supply chain for America’s national security, is expected to create up to 130 new, good-paying manufacturing jobs, including new union jobs, and over 175 union construction jobs.

“I am proud to announce $32 million from my bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law will go to the always innovative and cutting-edge Corning Incorporated in Canton, NY to boost their highly specialized glass critical to the semiconductor supply chain. This award will create hundreds of new, good-paying jobs, supporting our local unions and growing manufacturing right here in the North Country. The glass needed for our semiconductor supply chain should be built in Canton, not China, and today’s investment helps further realize the goal of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Law of bringing manufacturing back to America. Corning’s Canton plant has been a linchpin of the North Country’s economy, and when I visited two years ago I said my CHIPS & Science Law would help them grow even more, and today a promise made becomes a promise kept,” said Senator Schumer. 

“This will help usher in the next chapter of manufacturing here in the North Country. The specialized glass made right here in Canton is used in some of the most advanced machinery in the world – while making microchips we need for technology we use every day, from our phones to our computers and cars. Today Uncle Sam is giving its stamp of approval saying the North Country is ready to build America’s future, creating jobs, supercharging the economy and strengthening our national security.”

Schumer said today’s proposed CHIPS award will support Corning’s planned $315 million investment that will boost glass production in Canton. Corning is one of the largest industrial employers in the North Country, and the project is expected to create up to 130 good-paying union jobs in addition to 175 construction jobs.

 To carry out the expansion, Corning will work with local unions, including United Steelworkers Local 1026 who represent Corning’s glass-making workforce at the Canton facility and will represent applicable new workers. Specifically, Corning plans to increase the production of High Purity Fused Silica and Ultra Low Expansion Glass, which are key components of deep ultraviolet (DUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines and photomasks. DUV and EUV technology are important to semiconductor manufacturing, and this project will improve EUV performance with a lower carbon footprint.

“We are grateful for Majority Leader Schumer’s vision and tireless efforts to strengthen the domestic semiconductor supply chain through the direct funding award and the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit created by the CHIPS and Science Act. This strategic investment will help our Canton, New York facility continue to expand production of advanced optics components and create up to 130 good paying jobs that are critical to making the world’s most complex microchips,” said Corning Incorporated Chairman and CEO Wendell Weeks.

Schumer visited Corning in 2022 to explain how his bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law will help keep the U.S. on the cutting-edge of innovation, train a new generation of tech and manufacturing workers, lower costs for families, address inflation, strengthen national security, and specifically boost facilities like Canton’s. Corning is one of the largest employers in New York, with over 7,000 employees across the state, including over 300 in St. Lawrence County. Schumer explained that anticipation of federal investment in his CHIPS & Science Law and the tremendous impact it will have on the manufacturing and tech industries have already spurred growth for Corning Incorporated.

“This is good news for Upstate NY’s entire semiconductor ecosystem and all of Corning’s plants across Upstate NY. From Micron, GlobalFoundries, and Wolfspeed to the cutting-edge machinery at Albany NanoTech, the entire semiconductor industry in New York and across America needs the kind of specialized glass they make here in Canton. This continued investment is proof positive that Upstate NY is becoming America’s emerging semiconductor superhighway to power the country’s global leadership in technology and manufacturing, all thanks to the bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law,” Schumer said.

“For more than a century, Corning has led the way in pioneering innovation and manufacturing right here in the Empire State,” Senator Gillibrand said. “Today, we open a new chapter in that history with this federal investment in manufacturing jobs and economic development in the North Country. Thanks to the CHIPS Act, we are expanding New York’s leadership in the semiconductor ecosystem north of the I-90 corridor. I am proud to have fought to pass the CHIPS Act, and I will continue fighting to deliver these federal resources for New York.”

This is the fifth agreement for a New York company from the CHIPS Incentives Program.