Intel is arguably the most high-tech company to invest in the Philippines. Their main operations in the country is located at their manufacturing plant in General Trias, Cavite where they manufacture and test their microprocessors and flash memory. (I’m not sure if this is where some of their Core 2 CPUs are made.) Intel has actually been in the country since 1974 (only six years after the company was founded!) starting with a manufacturing plant in Bangkal, Makati. In 1996, Intel opened their plant at the Gateway Business Park in Cavite and consolidated all of their operations there by 2002. The Makati plant is now abandoned.
Intel’s operations in Cavite has made a significant impact in the province’s economy. It accounts for 22% of all of Cavite’s exports in 2004, which is quite large considering that there are other semiconductor companies in Cavite. Overall, Intel accounts for 0.3% of the country’s total GDP and employs about 5,000 people, most of them test engineers. (I have some batchmates from UP who work there.)
Recently, Yuga raised the alarm that Intel might leave their Cavite plant for China. It’s true that Intel will put up a $2.5B fabrication plant in Dalian, China but whether they will leave Cavite or not is still an open question.
Anyway, here’s the main page of Intel Philippines if you want to learn more about Intel’s involvement in the country.
Download KML file (for Google Earth)
63 people have responsed to “Intel Philippines, Cavite Plant”
I’ve always wondered why Intel closed its Makati plant. Thanks for the answer!
I managed to get inside the Intel Makati plant when I had a job interview there before. Too bad they closed it down, but I suppose that consolidating their business in one location makes more business sense.
Looking back at history, both Intel and Motorola Phils (Semiconductors Product Sector) have a similar story. They almost started on the same year in the Philippines, with Motorola having its first plant in Paranaque along the south super highway. Finally when Motorola opened their Carmona, Cavite plant, gradually the Paranaque plant was abandoned, older production workers forced to retire and some younger employees as well as experienced engineers where transferred to the Carmona Plant (today it is now known as On Semi).
Paul, that’s an interesting story. I’m sure there are other companies that eventually transferred to industrial parks in Cavite, Laguna, Clark, and Subic. Thanks for sharing!
Re: “I’m not sure if this is where some of their Core 2 CPUs are made.”
Yes, these are also manufactured in Intel Cavite.
Mangjose, thanks for the confirmation! But I guess Intel Cavite will now become Numonyx Philippines?
Only the Flash factory will be sold to Numonyx so some current Flash headcount will now become Numonyx employees.
(There are 2 plants in Intel Cavite, the Flash and Chipsets/CPU Factory.
The Makati plant was closed due to the expansion. It was so small and it would be more efficient to consolidate all mfg work in the Cavite site. When we watched a documentary of Intel Philippines way back, I couldn’t believe the Makati plant was actually a “plant” hehehe
Even if I already left Intel for a job in Manila (got tired of travelling everyday) I still cherish my memories working for Intel. I just love the working environment, just like the environment that I dreamt of. In Intel-speak, I still “bleed blue”. I do hope they don’t totally close down the CV plant after 30 plus years of operation.
And yes, Core 2 Duo, (and Core Duo and the first Centrino) are manufactured in Cavite. Cavite brought Centrino the world!
Some Trivia:
In your image, the longer building is the Flash plant (which will soon be part of Numonyx). The smaller “square” at the top of the left building is the Warehouse (na napakahigpit ng security). The building on the right is the CHipsets/CPU factory. The light blue thingy at the top of the image of the right building is the covered extension of our humongous cafeteria!
Hey, Dan! You’re my batchmate from UP EEE, right? Welcome! And thanks for all of that information; it’s very, very helpful and enlightening.
My powers of curation has its limits so I really appreciate first-hand accounts and stories from people like you.
Hi Eugene, yup it’s me! Sana nga tama pa yung pinagsususulat ko about Intel CV. I think only 2 of our batchmates are still working there.
@Dan, well, it’s still informative nonetheless and hardly unlikely that you got the gist of your info wrong.
Any update on the numonyx guys? I’m due for an interview sometime this month and just want to have a feel of where Intel Phils is going. Tnx
well im not so sure if it still employs 5000 employee, the headcount really went down. specially when flash was sold. got out last Feb 2007 and im surely missing my good ole days there. anyway i heard rumors of further headcount cuts im not so sure. i guess the vietnam AT site hit CV hard. CPU is moving out of CV last time I heard
For Flash CV2 building, there are already 500 left.
intel cavite is closing down this Q3’08. Too bad, one our country’s main exporter will be gone.
i’m a former employee of intel and this is what i’ve heard from my former colleagues.
Corporate made an announcement today about the closure, including how the separation of employees will be managed. Too bad…
ex-Intel too.
So sad, i was there during announcing of employee packages if their alternative plan will no work out..
many employees cried… too bad they had to close it down. the high costs of maintaining the site (i.e., high electricity bills, very high government taxes, building rentals, etc.) drove the closure.
The high cost of meintaining the site
like high electricity bills, very high government taxes, building
rentals, theft and robberies, all the scams that happened in Intel
which can be blamed to some employees, are the tings that drove the
closure.
Yes, the plant will be closing down 6-9 months from now from what I have heard from those who decided to stay behind.
Not sure though if the production will be going to China or Vietnam. The Intel factory in Vietnam is much bigger.
The high taxes is not just the unbearable part but the other employees who abused the management and company, stealing microprocessors and selling them to the black market. Oh and yeah, electricity is not only causing them lot (being expensive and all) but causing them lost production time due to fluctuations.
the employees who cried had too many loans or debts. they had to pay for it before they are laid off by subtracting their debts from their separation pays.
Wow. This recent news about Intel Cavite closing down is quite disturbing. After 34 years, Intel is leaving the Philippines? The comments also highlight some infrastructure and bureaucratic problems the Philippines needs to fix to maintain our country as an investment site.
I blogged about this development at my main blog (not here).
@pepot. You’re statement is so very wrong.
So stupid, “your” statement is so very wrong.
The management cited “infrastructure problems” in terms of building foundations showing signs of degradation. but one could not help speculate that the site had had enough of the high government taxes, high cost of electricity, etc. when these can be found cheapest at places like vietnam and china.
It’s not so much the theft of microprocessors, or the scams made by previous managers that drove the site away. It’s the unfriendly government policies made by the present and earlier governments that is affecting Intel’s business in this country. Former President Ramos’ overly priced contracts with power-producing firms is what’s hurting foreign companies in this country. We’re paying more money for power that is cheaper in sites like Vietnam and China.
yeah too many people cried. a lot of them got too emotional. too bad the upper management could not do anything about it because they are not in the “right position” to do so. the lobby of the chipset/cpu building was painted orange (numonyx’s official trademark color) already, the same time numonyx celebrated their official day1. hmm.. we do not want to entertain the idea, but why orange?
I heard jollibee is taking over
On a serious note, yes I could say this is a very sad news indeed. Many speculations have been circling around but I think if the building structure thing is indeed just a cover-up, the main driver for the closure could be cost and efficiency. Intel released a direction before of going for bigger factories, and when it said “Big”, they meant really big. And this is on the consideration of efficiency, lean manufacturing perse. I heard the vietnam plant would be employing around 9k heads when it opens, just imagine.
It would be hard and costly to transfer to another building with all the machinery and tools. I think building transfer would be hard. Significant amounts of time, labor and money are needed to do this. And to do this in just about 6 or 9 months? It’s practically impossible.
On top of the costly operations,scams, thefts and all that, it’s just a fact that we cannot just compete head to head with these communist coutries (Vietnam/China). their govts are offering insane deals that if we offer the same, our opposition senators will be up and arms and accuse the present govt of selling our country. (All they want is to bring down the govt and our country IMHO.) I bet the wages there are a lot cheaper too. What can you expect from those country where people are not allowed to voice out their labor concerns. I’m not even sure if they have labor laws. Bottom line is our friends/families from intel will need to face a bitter reality that they are going out the door and wonder what their future will be. It’s hard after 10+ years of being there. It’s just full uncertainly. I can only imagine. I just hope our govt will seriously do something about this. they should do everything to retain intel. we like to think we are a tech country like India. so we better not even think of replacing intel with sweatshops. PLEASE MRS PRESIDENT GMA! HELP OUR FAMILY FROM INTEL. Sorry for the long email. This announcement pains me as well. I have a bro who currently works there all his professional life.
@ Rbx
natawa ako dun! pero diba dapat McDo??? benta na lang nila ke Henry Sy yung planta since! mukha naman syang mall! at since jan na man tayong mga pinoy magaling sa pagtatayo nang mga malls hehehe
but on a serious note…its indeed sad to hear about this news…me to Intel was my home for 9 years…i was part of the startup team nung putik putik pa yang daanan jan papuntang CV1 at puro alikabok pa…time flies indeed…tapos mababalitaan ko na lang isasara na pala nila! tsk tsk…i’m hit with a profound sadness hearing this news…
After spending my 9+ years there (mukhang maraming 1057 dito ah
) It really saddens me a lot. A lot of my friends are still there, dami nga daw nag labasan ng prod floor when the announcement was made. Intel Philippines delivered through coup de etat, volcanoes, earthquakes, super typhoon (hehe trapped there during milenyo)transport strikes and what have you. But as all good things someday it will come to an end. Ang laking impact neto sa mga foreign investors kapag umalis ang intel sa pinas. Marquee brand yan kung nasan sila there surely is growth. But having a pullout will not only affect its employees but the whole business climate in the philippines as well. kaya the govt should take a closer look at this
tapos na maliligayang araw nyo intellites
Karamihan kasi sa mga Pilipino, marereklamo, mayayabang. Makikita rin yan sa ibang (hindi naman lahat) empleyado ng Intel. Sa cafeteria, sinisigawan nila yung mga service crew kapag umoorder sila o kaya kapag hindi nila gusto yung ulam. Nasa jeep pa lang at wala pa sa Intel, nakasabit na kaagad yung ID, akala mo mawawala sila… proud na proud sa ID nila. Kung manlait ng ibang tao, ganun na lang, kinikilatis pati hitsura. Pare-pareho lang naman silang mga emplyedo ng Intel. Lahat may karapatan na magtrabaho at hindi laitin ng ganun na lang. Ngayon, matatauhan na yung mga mayayabang na yun. Buti nga sa inyo.
@pepot, your statement is wrong…
@fer, i agree with you. The question is that why management did not pre-empt the infrastructure problem before building the site. It’s kinda weird, its like a poor planning.
it’s simple… intel has had enough of the high taxes, high power rates, theft and corruption here in the philippines.
BUT they still want to make a graceful exit. no company wants to leave with a spat with the government —- they don’t need that bad publicity. so they have to find a plausible excuse —- and they found one: cracks in the building.
poor planning? from our part…it looks like it…
but they don’t care what we say, do they? from their part (intel management) they have a valid excuse to shut down —- no matter how stupid it is. in the end (which is really the point), they have unloaded a plant which is no longer viable to operate. they get what they want. and besides, this has been in the plans for so many years, so i don’t think it was poor planning. i think it’s a perfect plan.
Well if you’re on the management perspective to close down the site (if it really is) then it really seems a perfect plan.
But I kinda believe on their reason of infrastructure problem as it is justified on the several pole support additions inside the manufacturing being one of the main drive to close CV. And I also believed we’ve been doing great this past few years with several monitoring controls implemented for “theft”.
On the other hand, I do agree on the undeniable high power costs and the current image of our economy that’s affecting the top management’s decision to continue business in the Philippines.
All this boils down to former President Ramos’ drive to secure questionable IPP (Independent Power Producers) contracts which paved the way for an oversupply of electricity and, thus, very high power rates. Not only that, President Arroyo added to the burden of the Filipinos, while being indebted to Ramos, by carrying out Ramos’ unfinished business with the IPPs.
The link: http://www.pcij.org/stories/2002/ramos.html
silverchair, can i have your email i just have some queries about intel… thanks
Natawa naman ako dun sa nagkwento tungkol sa mga umiyak na employees. Akala ko pa naman, naiyak sila dahil sa sentimental value about closing Intel Cavite. Yun pala eh naiyak sila dahil malaki pa ang hindi nila nababayaran sa loans nila, hehe.
Well, masakit nga naman talaga pag ganyan na biglang mapu-pwersa kang bayaran kaagad yung loan mo sa Intel. Hindi mo rin ma-e-enjoy yung separation package mo. Napunta lang sa pambayad ng utang.
Isipin mo nga naman, mukhang naging masuwerte pa yung mga na-absorb sa Numonyx, kung job-security ang pag-uusapan. Atleast hindi sila nawalan ng trabaho.
I’m also a former Intel employee in Cavite. Nung time ko, just some years ago, uso yung mga nakawan ng Pentium processor sa linya. You mean to say na hanggang ngayon eh may nagnanakaw pa rin???? Akala ko na-solve na yang kaso na yan. Patuloy pa rin pala. Tsk! Tsk!
Anyway, yung mga aalis na sa Intel, ma-mi-miss nyo tiyak yung working environment. Pag nagtrabaho na kayo sa ibang kumpanya, bihira yung nag-o-offer ng telecommuting. Bihira din yung mga Open Door Policy. Wala na yang mga ergo-ergo chair na yan. Fiberglass na lang upuan nyo sa opisina hehe. Iba talaga ang culture sa Intel. Pampered pagdating sa Work-Life Balance. Ang masaklap lang sa Intel eh yung tungkol sa mga Focal. Marami talagang umiiyak na empleyado dyan. Source kasi ng intriga yung mga pag-determine ng Slower Than Peers at nung mga Outstanding. Dapat nandun ka sa mga “maingay” na projects para mataas ang Focal mo. Hehe.
Lastly, I’m sure most of the sadness related to the closing of Intel Cavite, is related to sentimental value. There will always be comparable employment opportunities outside Intel. Atleast marami dyan ang magiging instant millionaires dahil sa employee package. Wag lang kayong magpapa-biktima sa mga pyramid scams.
There is life outside Intel. I can attest to that. Isipin mo na lang, hindi mo na kailangang mag-biyahe sa Shuttle bus araw-araw.
My replies to the other posts:
@cramps:
Kulay orange na yung lobby? Maybe a premonition that they will sell CV1 it to Numonyx for office space.
@Rbx:
I also believe that the “infrastructure/building safety” ruse is just an alibi. Sa dami ng tinayong building ng Intel around the world, this is the first time they built an “inferior” building. At ang galing ng timing ha, na-discover nila yung building “faults” kung kailan nag-da-downsize sila ng operations. I think that “beam support” they put up inside the production area is just part of the “special effects” budget to make the alibi more convincing. The bottomline still remains that they plan to close the plant.
@Shuhung:
Matindi galit mo sa Intel ah. Mukhang na-IR ka yata. Hehe. I think the behaviour of certain employees you were mad about, have nothing to do with Intel. May mga tao kasing may topak talaga, nagkataon lang siguro na taga-Intel yun. Wala namang kinalaman yung Intel sa ugali nya.
@guile:
Yes. Matagal nang rumor yan na Intel will exit the Philippines. Nakaka-gimbal lang talaga when the rumor finally becomes official.
akala siguro ng ibang employees ng intel wala na katapusan .tanggal ang yabang ng ibang employees ng intel……
to digi (or shukung watever) bakit ba super galit na galit sa sa mga intellites?
di ka ba na hire before sa intel kaya ganyan na lang galit mo? kung may na encounter ka na mayabang (isa or dalawa) please wag mo lahatin noh…. 
wag pikon pre… ganyan talaga buhay malas lang, may nasusulot may nanunulot.. move on pre… tsk tsk tsk eto tissue pamunas sa luha mo….
siguro ex mo taga intel tapos pinagpalit ka nya sa isang taga intel din
Yahoo tataas ang unemployment rate, dadami ang lilipat na mga bata sa public school, dadami ang pasyente sa government hospital, dadami ang magtatayo ng computer shop, mababawasan ang laman ng SM at Robinson, tataas ang nag-aabroad, marami ng magsisipag-uwian sa kanya-kanyang probinsya at mababawasan ang mga reklamador sa mundo.
Ang hirap maghintay ng 9 months, by december wala kang ng trabaho at malamang sa January magkita-kita kayo ng mga kasamahan mo at ka-competition mo pa sa posisyon ng inaaplyan mo. Welcome to the real World, stepping outside of your comfort zone and starting all over again if you are lucky above minimum wage.
@kulafu, nice one!
nakakalungkot naman tong news na to. intel cv is where i started from. oh maaan, kawawa naman yung mga families ng mga employees. unless they have some good separation packages for them. dang….
thats lyf…hanap n lng tayo iba….
butenga… tsk tsk tsk
kawawa ka naman
hahaha… baka yang si butenga eh kagaya ni shukung. siguro may boyfriend yan na kasabay na na-hire sa intel. tapos nung nandito na boyfriend nya eh ipinagpalit sya sa isang babae… kaya ang laki ng galit sa mga taga-intel… hahaha!
tama ba, mr. butenga?
hey,,, intel is closing its plant in cavite right..
im just wondering how about they scrap material..
we want to join if there is bidding in thier materials..
09285005046
Coop, salary loan sa SSS, salary loan ulit sa Pag-ibig, may calamity loan din sa SSS at 15 yrs pa ang 40 sqm na Raw House.
Tama ka amraam, pero teka .. di ko maintindihan ung post mo.
Kailangan ng Pilipinas ang isang diktador. Yung kokontrol sa Pilipino at pupwersahin siyang maging disiplinado. Hindi ko sinasabing ibalik ang kagaya ni Marcos. Kailangan nating yung gagabay sa mga Pilipino at may karisma na sundin siya. Kailangan din ng mga Pilipino na huwag maging masyadong reklamador. Gawin natin ang nararapat kapag ito ay matuwid at saka magreklamo kapag may mali. Isipan natin pansamantala si Lee Kuan Yew ng Singapore. Yun ang kailangan natin para umunlad ang Pilipinas.
@yne
Ayus ah, hindi pa nagsasara ang Intel, nakapila ka na sa mga scrap materials. Kung baga, hindi pa natitigok eh naka-abang na ang mga puneraria. Hehe.
This is really a sad news…kahit na di ako taga intel ramdam ko ang lungkot ng kapwa ko nasa I.T. industry.. sana wala na sumunod…
after the announcement of course other employee is shock & others naman ok lang kc ready na cl.i know job is very important but we have to face the reality this is it were hoping good package for the employee for starting their new life after intel. intel thank u so much i spend 11yrs in this company i miss you all goodluck to us reminders when you spend your money think many times ok!!god bless to all!!!
sad to say, kawawa ang ibang employees na decent at di mayayabang…
sa totoo lang , madami kasing mayabang sa intel eh, kala mo porket intel ang galing galing na.I am a married girl at asawa ng dating taga intel, and sad to say pinagpalit lang naman ako ng asawa ko sa taga intel din.
Wala na asawa ko sa intel, kasi ipinagbili na ang site nya, yung girl, ayun, makapal ang mukha na sinisiraan pa ko sa asawa ko (nasira tuloy ang tingin ko sa inyo, mang-aagaw pala kau..sorry to say this…)
What goes around comes around…it’s called KARMA baby and it goes around!
salamat sa intel kahit papanu nakatulong sa ating career development at may naitustos tayo sa pangangailangan natin.
for me it is a business move, kung kaya sila umalis sa ating bansa,
this is really a sad news.i almost got hired in intel way back 2000.but changed my mind i stick with my job in a semicon firm also.
anyway,thats a management decision so i hope all the employees will look at the brighter/positive side of this.
God bless u all
Arlene… sayang! kung tinanggap mo offer ng intel, meron ka na sanang 300,000 after months
FUCK ED HERRERA! Nung dumating ka sa CV dyan nagsimula ang gulo!
pwede na mag apply sa singapore after closure! hehe! yung mga instant millionaire dyan ingat ingat lang lalo na kila digi at shuhung! hehe
used to be with intel a few years back and i miss the company kahit papano. i had the coolest barkada, the best. kaso depende din sa job designation at sa product/module kung san ka naka-assign kung talagang enjoyable ang trabaho. ikaw na ang mag-explain everyday sa yield meeting, hehe, at mapagalitan ng expat na boss dahil di maabot ang target. sa ibang nag-post, di naman lahat ng tao sa intel ay mayabang, sige proud lang kasi they are working for one of the best employers there is. never ako nakakita ng may sinisigawan sa cafeteria or nagreklamo sa food. madami namang choices ng kakainin, in fairness. anyway, siguro naman e ok din yung package na binigay nila. lalo na dun sa matagal na sa company at madaming stocks, hehe.
haaay salamat naman! cguro this time ung mga mayayabang na galing INTEL matigil na ang kayabangan, INUTIL na kasi, ung iba dyan kung umasta kala mo mga stockholder ng INTEL. if i were you, leave the past behind, work hard, find another job. Your children needs you, your brothers & sisters needs you. haay pano na pang tuition fee ng anak mo na nag aaral noon sa private school at mga kapatid mo na tambay na hanggang ngayon ay umaasa pa rin sau, INTEL ka kasi eh. God bless nalang sa pag apply ng job, wish ko lang makakuha kau agad ng work.
napakalaking dagok nito sa ekonomiya ng pilipinas.
para sa isang napakalaking kompanya kagaya ng intel, ang pag-alis nito sa bansa ay malamang na makapagdulot ng pagda-dalawang isip ng iba pang kompanya na mamuhunan at mag-tayo ng kani-kanilang negosyo dito sa atin.
mabuti na lamang at may pag-asa pa ring natatanaw matapos mag-tayo ang ti ng humigit-kumulang 1 bilyong dolyar na planta sa clark.
kahit papaano mababawasan ang epekto ng pagsasara o paghina ng operasyon ng intel.
Well isa sa mga bubuwit ang nakapagtsismis sa akin na lilipat ang intel ng site, probably sa laguna. As per there computation, giving all remaining employees there big fat separation pay is one hell of money.
There strategy is to minimize numbers of employees who will get a big benefits by staying a little bit longer but making some annoying rules so employees will decided to leave.
Kawawa mga taga-intel CV hindeh makapag-resign kasi hoping sa package, tatakbo lang ang panahon pero magsasara rin naman. average age of employee there are Mid-30s ewan if may mahanap pa kayong work if mag-40 na kayo.