Intel will "guarantee affordable, high-quality child care for workers who build or operate a plant” in Ohio

The care for one child costs 14-18% of a construction workers' gross wages.

Last week, the Commerce Department released guidelines for companies making major investments in the semiconductor industry, including a novel requirement for manufacturers to provide child care for all of their workers.

Intel is currently about nine months into construction on semiconductor fabrication plants in Licking County, Ohio. Now, the government is asking funding applicants who want more than $150 million directly from the CHIPS Act to submit plans to offer workers “affordable, accessible, reliable, and high-quality child care.”

A spokesperson for Intel said its benefits package includes child care programs — providing tuition discounts for local centers. Businesses can choose to provide support in the form of building company-run onsite facilities.

Parents, particularly women, can't go to work if they can't find child care — a problem that's only grown more acute, first in the pandemic and now in the tight labor market. Even before production at the mega-plant east of Columbus kicked off, lengthy waitlists and high price tags defined the child care search for central Ohio parents.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), child care is affordable if it costs no more than 7% of a family’s income. By this standard, only 12.2% of Ohio families can afford infant care.

If the Columbus region is to grow effectively in the coming years, child care is a fundamental need in our community we will have to address with unprecedented investment.

To learn more about what Intel is planning to do to improve recruitment in an incresingly competitive job market, check out this podcast!

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