B-roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Celebrates Major Milestone for Micron's $100 Billion Investment in Central New York

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the largest private-sector construction project in New York State history has rapidly accelerated into its next phase, with workers pouring the first foundations for Micron's $100 billion semiconductor manufacturing campus in Central New York. This major milestone was achieved less than six months after breaking ground and marks a pivotal turning point from site preparation to full vertical construction. The accelerated timeline reflects seamless coordination between state agencies, Micron, contractors, local partners and labor to maintain momentum at the site.

B-ROLL of the Governor attending the Micron Site Concrete Pour is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Well, it is great to be in Upstate New York. I'm so proud to be back on my home turf. You know where I just left? I left Manhattan. Lovely place, you should visit it sometime. You know what's going on in our city as I'm up here right now? The opening of the new global headquarters of American Express. The last three months have seen record investment in commercial leases, long-term leases by companies who believe in New York City and New York State.

I'm talking about the largest cosmetic company in the world. I'm talking about Anthropic and other AI startups in addition to some of the largest. I'm talking about the second-largest bank in America. I'm talking about two of the top 50 law firms that are now finding their way to New York. And you know who they're following? They're following Micron because they knew Micron is the leader. This is the place if your business wants to grow and thrive, and we all know that. And today is a testament to that vision of individuals who contacted me when I was literally a week into being Governor back at the end of 2021. And the meeting I had with Manish and ultimately Bo, getting to meet the big guru, flying all the way to Syracuse in a snowstorm, and my state police says, "You probably don't want to get on that plane." And I said, "I'm getting on that plane. Sanjay's only here for a short time." So we came all the way to Syracuse, and it was the best supposed-to-be-20-minute meeting that turned into three hours I ever had in my life.

And I could see that this was a company that had the same values that we have here in New York State. That we look out for our employees, we believe in an educated, well-trained workforce. And the building trades who are here, I want to give a shout-out to all of you. Thank you for building America. Our labor unions who are on the front lines, thank you. Thank you for stepping up and building our country back.

And we made the magic happen. I want to thank all the partners who are here today. Our representatives from the federal government, I thank them. I also want to thank our local representatives, Ryan McMahon. Where are you, Ryan? You've been an extraordinary partner in this. All the local officials, John Mannion, our Congressman, but also my team. I want to thank Kevin Younis, everybody at Empire State Development. You are the ones who make this happen, and let's give you a round of applause as well.

And our local officials from the town of Clay. I'm a former local official, town board member, 14 years, so I thank you. I know this is quite extraordinary, a major transformation of your community, but you'll be the beneficiaries of this investment.

The numbers keep getting higher, Sanjay. They just keep getting higher. When we first announced this with President Biden, it was $100 billion, and now it's been doubled, and I'm so excited about that. But you know what? We might be laying the foundation for a fab that'll be opening up in just a few years. We're also laying the foundation for a resurgence of American industry, manufacturing and the whole semiconductor revolution, and it's happening here. This is the epicenter of this. So I'm so proud that this will be creating businesses and supply chain opportunities, creating jobs for generations to come.

And I think about the fact that you make memories. I think about memories. My memories of growing up in Upstate were not that positive. I have the memory of being a child who watched Bethlehem Steel close down, the place my grandpa worked, my dad worked, my uncles worked. Everybody made steel with their hands. They were so proud. And all of a sudden, because of foreign competition and decisions made back in the '70s, all that was gone. My memories were of people saying, "Last one here, turn out the lights." But today, the memories that you're creating, literally and figuratively, are so different, so vastly different.

People today who live in these communities finally have hope. They believe in this state. They believe in the opportunities of this great country. And Sanjay, I was thinking about the immortal words of the former GM CEO back in, I think the '50s, who said, "As goes GM, goes America." I'm here to say - as goes Micron, goes America. Because you are leading us. You are leading the resurgence.

I'm here for you. I know what you're going to need. You're going to need more skilled workers. Our Department of Labor is all over this. I promise you. You told me what you needed years ago, and I said I'll deliver this. You also need skilled individuals who want to be part of this revolution, the engineers, the talent. I will deliver that from schools right here in New York State, and we're supercharging that effort right now. That is my commitment to you. And we'll make sure as you move into this next venture, all the permits and the hassles that you have to deal with, we will make it smooth sailing for you because we need you to move as fast as you can possibly go.

Because America is waiting for this. The world is waiting for your product. And as the Governor of the state, I could not be prouder of this moment in our history because you are making memories, you're making semiconductor chips, you're making the world believe in New York State again, and this is where it's all happening. Thank you very much, everybody. Let's pour some concrete.