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Intel is king of starting projects then killing them. Ask anyone who lived in Austin in the early '00s and remembers the "Intel shell", a half-built downtown of

Intel is king of starting projects then killing them. Ask anyone who lived in Austin in the early '00s and remembers the "Intel shell", a half-built downtown office building that was eventually imploded. An aerial acrobatics company did put on some really good aerial silks performances there before it was imploded, so that was cool.

irjustin 2y ago
Seems crazy to me that they would do this over and over. Who's allowing projects to be green lit only to be killed after you've dumped a whole bunch of money into it. I understand geopolitics can change things as Israel is in the hot seat right now, but doing it regularly seems wasteful.
- ammo1662 2y ago
  The people who allowed the project already got their money from shares and rebates. They may leave the company or just retire. Then their successors kill the project to save the budget. They can also get well paid from their high level KPIs. Win-win, right? As for the company, who cares? It is already too big to fail.
m463 2y ago
Aren't all large companies prone to this? google has killed projects. apple has killed projects. (they've all killed products too)
- hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
  It's not just about killing projects. It's specifically about: 1. Getting loads of government incentives to build an office/factory in some locale. 2. Start the project, then when the winds change, leave it as a blight/eyesore for years without having any incentive to do anything about how you dropped a big turd in a community based on false promises. I don't have a problem when companies change plans due to changing market conditions. I do have a problem when they don't clean up their messes in a timely manner.
  - m463 2y ago
    google: https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/21/23693474/google-san-jose-downtown-west-camps https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/21/23693474/google-san-jose-... apple: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/after-a-decade-of-stops-and-starts-apple-kills-its-electric-car-project/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/after-a-decade-of-st...
    - hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
      Your first Google link seems very much in line with what I was talking about, specifically because of this line "but it may be pulling back from its biggest development yet — after razing small parts of San Jose to the ground." Apple killing their car project does not, though, unless I missed something about them leaving half-built factories somewhere.
wmf 2y ago
The Austin building was two or three CEOs ago. Every large company cancels stuff due to downturns, political changes, or just reorgs.
- dylan604 2y ago
  Things like fabs aren't something you just come up with an idea that you're going to build a new in a location and start it within weeks. It takes years to bring one online after how ever long it took to decide you want one, however long it takes to decide you will build one, however long it takes to decide where to build it, then building it, then getting it up and running. How many CEOs does that take?
  - wmf 2y ago
    Look, I hate corporate bullshit but they will absolutely work on something for ten years then say "sunk cost fallacy" and cancel it overnight.
- lenerdenator 2y ago
  Did they end up paying for the wasted capital allocation and the reduction in property values that came from the area having to stare at their empty building?
pram 2y ago
Wow I had no idea that was supposed to be a skyscraper, I thought it was just some condemned parking garage or something lol
blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
They also are just in a bad position to spend money right now. They’re worth so little compared to competitors like Nvidia. Talent has long since left, the x86 era is going away, and they aren’t competitive in any market really (mobile phones, laptops, data centers).
pudwallabee 2y ago
[dead]
benced 2y ago
There's a slight difference between cancelling a building in Austin and not building the most precise factory known to man in an active war zone.

irjustin 2y ago

Seems crazy to me that they would do this over and over. Who's allowing projects to be green lit only to be killed after you've dumped a whole bunch of money into it. I understand geopolitics can change things as Israel is in the hot seat right now, but doing it regularly seems wasteful.

ammo1662 2y ago
The people who allowed the project already got their money from shares and rebates. They may leave the company or just retire. Then their successors kill the project to save the budget. They can also get well paid from their high level KPIs. Win-win, right? As for the company, who cares? It is already too big to fail.

m463 2y ago

Aren't all large companies prone to this? google has killed projects. apple has killed projects. (they've all killed products too)

hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
It's not just about killing projects. It's specifically about: 1. Getting loads of government incentives to build an office/factory in some locale. 2. Start the project, then when the winds change, leave it as a blight/eyesore for years without having any incentive to do anything about how you dropped a big turd in a community based on false promises. I don't have a problem when companies change plans due to changing market conditions. I do have a problem when they don't clean up their messes in a timely manner.
- m463 2y ago
  google: https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/21/23693474/google-san-jose-downtown-west-camps https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/21/23693474/google-san-jose-... apple: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/after-a-decade-of-stops-and-starts-apple-kills-its-electric-car-project/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/after-a-decade-of-st...
  - hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
    Your first Google link seems very much in line with what I was talking about, specifically because of this line "but it may be pulling back from its biggest development yet — after razing small parts of San Jose to the ground." Apple killing their car project does not, though, unless I missed something about them leaving half-built factories somewhere.

wmf 2y ago

The Austin building was two or three CEOs ago. Every large company cancels stuff due to downturns, political changes, or just reorgs.

dylan604 2y ago
Things like fabs aren't something you just come up with an idea that you're going to build a new in a location and start it within weeks. It takes years to bring one online after how ever long it took to decide you want one, however long it takes to decide you will build one, however long it takes to decide where to build it, then building it, then getting it up and running. How many CEOs does that take?
- wmf 2y ago
  Look, I hate corporate bullshit but they will absolutely work on something for ten years then say "sunk cost fallacy" and cancel it overnight.
lenerdenator 2y ago
Did they end up paying for the wasted capital allocation and the reduction in property values that came from the area having to stare at their empty building?

pram 2y ago

Wow I had no idea that was supposed to be a skyscraper, I thought it was just some condemned parking garage or something lol

blackeyeblitzar 2y ago

They also are just in a bad position to spend money right now. They’re worth so little compared to competitors like Nvidia. Talent has long since left, the x86 era is going away, and they aren’t competitive in any market really (mobile phones, laptops, data centers).

pudwallabee 2y ago

[dead]

benced 2y ago

There's a slight difference between cancelling a building in Austin and not building the most precise factory known to man in an active war zone.