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AMERICA’S wealthy, lured by the mineral springs, flocked to Saratoga during the 19th century. Gilded-Age figures such as J.P. Morgan, the financier, summered there. The race course, which opened in 1863, became a huge draw. Even James Bond placed a flutter at the Saratoga track in “Diamonds are Forever”. Yet, until recently, Saratoga did not have much else going for it. Although colleges and universities crowd the Greater Capital Region of New York, the five-county spread where Saratoga sits, there were few jobs around. Things are different now.
19世紀，美國的富人們被當地的礦物溫泉所吸引，紛紛涌入紐約州薩拉托加這個小鎮。鍍金時代的一些名人如金融家J?P?摩根就是在那里避暑的。1863年開業的賽馬場也具有超強的吸引力。就連詹姆斯?邦德在《007系列之永遠的鉆石》里也曾在賽馬場賽道上投下賭注。然而，直到最近，薩拉托加還沒有什么其他方面值得一去的。盡管大州府區的院校林立，五大縣也正好分布于薩拉托加周圍，但是過去這一帶的工作機會極少，如今的情況不一樣了。
Thanks to a cold call placed by the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation in 2005, pitching the area as an ideal site for a factory, GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor manufacturer, is building a $4.6 billion, 2m-square-foot campus in a Saratoga forest (above). The main site, a former secret missile-testing range, is as big as six American-football fields. The Semi-Conductor Association estimates that the five-year cost of building and operating a factory making the wafers needed for semiconductors is $1 billion dearer in the United States than elsewhere. Luckily, New York state offered a $1.4 billion incentive package. Some resent the subsidies, but the state anticipates a return of $2.54 for every dollar spent on the project.
由于薩拉托加經濟開發公司于2005年的一次意外造訪，該地區被選定為一家半導體廠商“全球晶圓”的理想建廠地，要在薩拉托加森林區（見上圖）建成一座耗資46億美元，面積達兩百萬平方英尺的園區。其中主址原為一處秘密的導彈試驗靶場，相當于六個美式足球場的面積。半導體協會預計在此處建成及運營一家生產半導體晶片的工廠的五年成本比在國外要高出10億美元。幸運的是紐約州政府為此提供了14億美元的激勵方案。盡管有些人不喜歡這種補貼，州政府仍期望在該項目所投入的每一美元能得到2.54美元的回報。
The investment will also create 1,600 direct jobs and about 8,000 indirect ones, creating an annual payroll of some $300m. The first hires come from all over the world, but about 50% are local, and GlobalFoundries expects this proportion to grow. It is working with local colleges and universities to create a labour pool for the future. More than half the jobs require at least an associate’s degree (ie, one granted by a technical or community college) in electronics or semiconductor manufacturing. Along with other high-tech companies, GlobalFoundries is working closely with Hudson Valley Community College, which has a dedicated semiconductor-training campus, called TEC-SMART, nestled in the same forest. It shares the space with local high-schoolers. “In a way we’re preparing for jobs that don’t exist yet,” says Joseph Dragone, a district superintendent.
該項目的投入也將直接創造1600個工作機會和間接創造8000個工作機會，每年發放的工資總額約3億美元。首批雇員來自世界各地，但約有50%的雇員是當地人，全球晶圓公司希望此比例有所增長。該公司與當地的大專院校合作為未來打造人才儲備庫。有一半以上的工作崗位要求至少有電子或半導體制造專業的大專學位（即由專科學校或社區大學授予）。全球晶圓公司同其他高科技公司一起，與哈德遜谷社區學院（Hudson Valley Community College）緊密合作，該學院擁有一個名為“TEC-SMART”的專門用于半導體相關培訓的園區，也坐落于同一片森林區。當地的高中生也能共享此資源。“從某種程度上來說，我們正在為尚未出現的工作機會做準備。” 該地區一位負責人Joseph Dragone說。
