Semiconductor company Solidigm will be creating 750 high-paying new research and development jobs in Rancho Cordova over a five-year period in what is expected to be a major economic boost to the Sacramento area.
Solidigm spokeswoman Catherine Roberts confirmed the 750 new jobs in an email to The Sacramento Bee. The announcement is one of the largest corporate job gains for the Sacramento region in decades.
“Solidigm is pleased to bring innovation and jobs to Rancho Cordova and the Greater Sacramento area, known for its highly skilled workforce and spirit of inventiveness,” Solidigm CEO Rob Crooke said in a statement. “We look forward to investing in and supporting the area’s economic growth and community through jobs, partnerships, and volunteerism.”
The total number of jobs in the 230,000-square-foot space Solidigm is renting in the White Rock Corporate Campus off Route 50 will be 1,900, Roberts said.
But Rancho Cordova’s gain could be Folsom’s loss. The bulk of those 1,900 employees, Roberts explained, will be hundreds of former Intel employees in Folsom whom Solidigm is relocating to Rancho Cordova. The real net job gain depends on Intel’s next move.
Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, told The Bee he believes Intel will replace the jobs moving to Solidigm, thus potentially making the net job gain as high as the full 1,900 jobs over time.
An Intel public relations official said he could not provide information on job losses and replacements at its Folsom location.
Nevertheless, 750 new high-tech jobs in the region is a huge boost.
Solidigm was only born on Dec. 29, 2021, a year after a memory chip maker, South Korea-based SK HynIx, agreed to acquire Intel’s NAND memory chip business for $9 billion.
Solidigm is scheduled to occupy three of five buildings in the low-rise office building complex and an adjoining building down the street.
The first new employees are expected to move into Solidigm’s new research and development headquarters in 2023.
“They were interested in opening the doors in 2023, and we committed to working with Solidigm to make that happen,” said Cyrus Abhar, Rancho Cordova’s city manager.
Solidigm is expected to pay $100 million to construct the new campus. The company’s corporate headquarters is in San Jose.
Broome said the landing of Solidigm will help cement Sacramento’s reputation as a place for the semiconductor industry and other high-tech companies to do business, moving past its traditional role as a state government center.
He said the new jobs will average $180,000 a year.
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