Intel has mothballed a new chip factory, "Fab42," before the place even opened. The factory, based in Chandler, Arizona, was first announced in 2011 and was to be a cutting-edge, $5 billion facility building chips on a 14nm processor. Intel promised 1,000 jobs would be created, and two years ago, President Obama visited the site while campaigning for re-election to champion it as a demonstration of an America that "attracts the next generation of good manufacturing jobs."

Instead, Intel now plans to build 14nm chips in its existing factories, both in Oregon and Arizona.

The factory will, for the moment, stand empty. Intel says that the building structure is complete and includes heating and air conditioning. It does not, however, have any of the expensive chip-building equipment installed. This equipment typically makes up two-thirds of the cost of a new fab. The company claims that the factory will eventually be used, but it says that it's a more efficient use of capital to upgrade existing facilities at the moment.

The underlying reason for the closure (or, rather, non-opening) is presumably the continued slump in PC sales. Intel finds itself in the position of having ample manufacturing capacity and is continuing to invest in other areas. A $300 million research-and-development facility, also in Chandler, is expected to start operating within the next six months.

The microprocessor giant is also expanding a plant in Oregon to develop the use of 450mm silicon wafers, which will reduce manufacturing costs compared to today's 300mm wafers.