Two-fifths of the staff of the U.S. Chips Program Office, responsible for managing the Chips and Science Act, have been laid off by the Trump administration. 60 total employees will be cut by the end of today.
According to Bloomberg, 20 employees previously accepted resignations last week, with the other 40 being “probationary” employees who had begun their positions within the last two years; those probationary workers were to be terminated by the end of Monday.
It is no secret that President Trump is not a fan of the Chips Act. The law signed by the previous President Biden devotes $52 billion to investing in American semiconductor production and R&D. In response, companies including Intel and TSMC have pledged $400 billion in private investment in moving more of the supply chain to the U.S.
“The CHIPS Program Office has told us that certain conditions that do not align with President Trump’s executive orders and policies are now under review for all CHIPS Direct Funding Agreements,” shared GlobalWafers spokesperson Leah Peng. Some funding promised by the Biden-era Chips Office includes stipulations requiring allowing the unionization of chip fab workers and paid parental leave, policies outside of the Trump administration’s wishes.
Rather than rely on promising grants to companies, Trump seems to prefer leveling economic tariffs to push companies into moving into the U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claims this strategy is what secured today’s announcement of TSMC’s $100 billion new investment in the United States, which includes a pledge of three new U.S. fabs.
“America gave TSMC 10% of the money to build here,” Lutnick said at today’s White House press conference. “And now you’re seeing the power of Donald Trump’s presidency because TSMC, the greatest manufacturer of chips in the world, is coming to America with a $100 billion investment. Of course, that is backed by the fact that they can come here because they can avoid paying tariffs.”
While the Chips Act is credited with being the driving push to revive the U.S. semiconductor industry, with the country spending more on chip manufacturing in 2024 than in the past 28 years combined, it remains to be seen what will happen to the office responsible for organizing the Chips Act’s funds in the next four years. While some speculate more cuts are to come, and the Chip Office ensured that all of the budgeted money has been contracted out, more bad days may come for the Chips Act office.