Story perspectives

SK hynix breaks ground on $4B Indiana HBM plant

8/28/2026

Summary

Kwak Launches HBM Plant

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung broke ground on the first U.S. high-bandwidth memory plant in Indiana.
The Indiana facility will cost more than $4 billion, making it the state’s largest private development project.
U.S. Commerce Department approved up to $458 million in CHIPS Act grants and $500 million in loans for the plant.
The cleanroom should open by October 2028, with mass production in late 2029 delivering hundreds-thousands of HBM units annually.

Summary

Union Rejects Deal

Union members rejected a preliminary wage agreement at SK hynix.
Fifty-point-zero-eight percent of 15,045 voters opposed the deal, a 25-vote margin.
The proposal offered average 2026 compensation of 779 million won, 40% cash, 40% shares, 20% deferred stock.
A unified union of about 2,500 workers formed on August 13 after stalled bonus talks.
Labor friction emerges as SK hynix expands U.S. operations, raising concerns over workforce stability.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 Intel launched the $5 billion Fab 90 plant in Oregon, the state’s largest private industrial investment and a catalyst for a regional “Silicon Forest” anchored by 1,200 engineers. Decades later the CHIPS Act’s $458 million grant backs SK hynix’s $4 billion Indiana high-bandwidth memory fab, reviving the pattern of state-supported semiconductor hubs that also spark intense labor negotiations.

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Kwak Launches HBM Plant

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung broke ground on the first U.S. high-bandwidth memory plant in Indiana.
The Indiana facility will cost more than $4 billion, making it the state’s largest private development project.
U.S. Commerce Department approved up to $458 million in CHIPS Act grants and $500 million in loans for the plant.
The cleanroom should open by October 2028, with mass production in late 2029 delivering hundreds-thousands of HBM units annually.

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