Cuomo administration miscounts jobs, retracts claim

Posted at: 09/24/2012 5:56 PM | Updated at: 09/24/2012 6:42 PM
By: Bill Lambdin

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ALBANY - When Global Foundries first announced it would build a state-of-the-art chip manufacturing plant in the Malta area, the commitment was for about 12-hundred jobs. The state promised to supply about 1.2 billion dollars in incentives.

So Monday, placed on page 3 of a four page news release, the claim that Global Foundries would add 16-hundred and 55 additional jobs, investing just under 7 billion dollars, it seemed as if the Cuomo administration had buried their lead.

This would be a very big deal, if it was accurate.

"Let me ask Gil," said Governor Cuomo in response to a question from NewsChannel 13. "I don't know the specifics on how the grants were picked and why. So I'll ask Gil to respond."

The President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Power Authority, Gil Quiniones responded that "it is the part of the original investment of Global Foundries."

The lead of the news release said Governor Cuomo announced 32-hundred jobs to be created.

More than half of that statewide total was attributed just to Global Foundries.

The release went on to say the power allocation was tied directly to job creation.

The next sentence said an estimated 32-hundred jobs were as a result of that low-cost power.

That's what it says, but the administration seemed to be saying that's not what it means.

After further discussion, the Cuomo administration said the Power Authority had made a mistake by adding 450 jobs announced two months ago by Global Foundries to the 12-hundred original jobs announced almost a decade ago.

Apparently that's how the Cuomo Administration arrived at the 1655 Global Foundries jobs but none of those jobs are actually new.

So the claim of 32-hundred jobs statewide shrinks by at least half, assuming the jobs claimed at the other 37 employers are correct.