Micron’s Texas expansion no threat to Boise, company says

Yes, Micron is expanding its Allen, Texas facility — near Dallas — but that doesn’t mean it loves Boise any less.

“The company has a global team of engineers, researchers and developers located at a large number of smaller sites around the world. Our Allen, Texas office expansion is one of many upgrades we have currently going on to ensure our talented global teams have world-class work environments,” said Tate Tran, corporate public relations manager for the Boise-based chip manufacturer, in an email message. “Micron innovation starts in Boise. It remains our corporate headquarters and is the epicenter for all our research efforts. It’s home to our recently expanded Research and Development Center of Excellence and continues to play a critical role in our efforts to deliver breakthrough memory and storage solutions.”

Whew.

About a week ago, the Dallas press was all in a tizzy because the company had reportedly leased a 38,000-square-foot-space, an increase from its current 31,000-square-foot space. That would enable it to increase its current 125 employees to 200, according to publications such as the Dallas Business Journal.

The new office is in One Bethany West, a 200,000-square-foot building located in the northeastern Dallas suburb of Allen. One Bethany West is a newly constructed, eight-story building within the 17-acre One Bethany at Watters Creek office park, according to the REBusiness Online website. Micron is expected to take possession of the facility and be moved in by the end of next year, the publication continued.

Micron didn’t say why it had chosen to expand in Dallas, but talent may have been a factor, speculated Jim Handy, a veteran Micron analyst and general director of Objective Analysis, based in Los Gatos, California.

“If there’s an untapped talent pool there, and if Micron is having any trouble getting talent to move to Boise, then it would make sense for the company to hire someone in Dallas every time someone leaves in Boise,” Handy said in an email message.

Unlike the Micron facility in Boise, which is based some distance southeast of the city, the Allen, Texas complex offers access to about 50 restaurants and shops within walking distance, according to Local Profile, a website that covers Collins County, where Allen is located.

Micron, one of Boise’s largest employers, has to deal with rumors occasionally that it is being shut down, laying people off, or moving to places such as Milpitas, California. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra reportedly continues to live in Silicon Valley, which makes some people nervous that he isn’t committed to Boise.

Like many other companies in the chip industry, Micron also had to deal with a plunge in its stock in 2019 partially due to lower than expected chip prices, as well as U.S. government restrictions on sales to Chinese companies such as Huawei, a major Micron customer.