, one of the largest multinational employers in the Republic, has urged the Government to look at ways of tackling soaring energy costs in order for the State to remain competitive in the international hunt for foreign investment.
Earlier this month, the Spanish and Portuguese governments approved caps on the price of gas used for the generation of electricity, amounting to the boldest moves to date by EU countries to rein in soaring energy bills. Intel, which employs about 4,900 people at its campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare, decided in March to set up two new large semiconductor sites in Magdeburg in Germany under €80 billion plan to boost chip manufacturing in Europe. It comes amid subsidy-fuelled efforts by EU and US policymakers to win back chip-making market share from Asian countries, who now account for 80 per cent of output. Intel is also planning a mega plant in Ohio.