Intel falls short of local-hire promise

Associated Press

Updated: Apr 21, 2012 2:36 PM

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — Computer chip maker Intel has fallen short of a goal set by Sandoval County to make sure 60 percent of the new hires for its Rio Rancho plant are New Mexico residents.

Intel officials told Sandoval County commissioners this week that only 35 percent of the 349 employees it hired in 2011 were state residents. That's the third time in five years the company didn't meet the goal.

The Albuquerque Journal reports the county set the benchmark in 2004 when it approved a major revenue bond for Intel.

Under the agreement, Intel must pay the county $100,000 for educational initiatives when it fails to meet the hiring requirement.

Intel says there just aren't enough of the highly skilled workers it needs at the plant in New Mexico.

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