cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });

Intel Corp. on Sunday announced an agreement with Idaho-based Micron to take possession of a Kiryat Gat manufacturing facility it had leased to the company, which had been set to close within two years. It plans to hire the roughly 800 employees working there on a full time basis.“The current deal with Micron once again exhibits Intel Corporation’s longtime commitment to Intel Israel and to the State of Israel,” said Intel Israel general-manager Maxine Fassberg.“Micron Israel has talented people who will contribute to Intel’s continuous growth and development.”The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.The decision by Intel, already Israel’s largest private- sector employer, to boost its workforce further drew praise from both Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett.“1000 jobs!” Lapid wrote on his Facebook page, rounding the number of saved employees up. The decision added to his goal of “creating more and more work places in the periphery, maintaining the country at the forefront of global technology and taking care of the Israeli middle class.”“We see in this a vote of confidence in Israel as a hi-tech superpower and a strategic target,” added Bennett. “I see great importance in the continued employment of Micron workers in the framework of Intel and and hope for the company’s continued investment in Israel in the future.“Intel’s decision to invest in Micron illustrates that government intervention should be moderate and leave the room for market powers to to find their own solutions,” he said.Following the transaction, Intel is set to manufacture NOR flash memory for Micron.