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On 20 April 2000, Motorola Inc. announced plans to acquire Hyundai Electronics Industries’ semiconductor facility in Dunfermline, Scotland, and invest about $2.1 billion at the site over five years. That figure covered the planned total investment, including acquisition and equipping—not a confirmed purchase price. Motorola intended to equip the facility for 8-inch wafer production of integrated circuits for mobile communications.

What Motorola and Hyundai announced

Motorola’s announcement concerned a large semiconductor manufacturing site in Dunfermline, Scotland. Hyundai Electronics Industries had planned a DRAM complex there, but suspended the project in 1998 amid a market downturn. The facility included a fab shell that contemporary reporting described as more than one million square feet on a 150-acre site.

Hyundai confirmed on 22 April 2000 that it would transfer ownership of the facility to Motorola. Hyundai said the disposal was intended to improve investment efficiency and strengthen its semiconductor business. It planned to use the funds to improve its financial structure and upgrade next-generation products. The discussions involved Hyundai, Motorola, Scottish Enterprise, Locate in Scotland and the Scottish Executive.

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What the $2.1 billion meant

EDN reported the planned investment as approximately $2.1 billion, or about £1.3 billion, over five years, including acquisition and equipping of the site (EDN, 20 April 2000). The companies did not disclose or confirm a purchase price in the main announcement.

A separate contemporary report mentioned a possible purchase price of about $160 million but said neither company confirmed it. That figure is therefore an unconfirmed report, not an established transaction price (EE Times).

What Motorola planned to make

Motorola planned to equip the Dunfermline facility to process 8-inch wafers for integrated circuits used in mobile communications, according to EDN’s announcement coverage (EDN). The plan was to adapt the former Hyundai fab shell for that manufacturing purpose; the announcement is not evidence that production began or reached a particular scale.

Jobs and other expected outcomes

EE Times reported that the project was expected to create 1,350 additional jobs over five years. That was a forecast made at the time, not a verified later employment count. Motorola semiconductor executive Bill Walker described the company’s ambition for the site as becoming “a world leader in productivity and cost effectiveness,” but the statement expressed a goal, not a demonstrated result (EE Times).

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Locate in Scotland director David Macdonald welcomed the buyer and said the project would continue to create high-quality employment opportunities. His comment likewise reflected expectations at the time of the announcement, not proof of subsequent job creation (Hyundai announcement, 22 April 2000).

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What is known about the site’s later history

The contemporary reports establish the proposed acquisition, planned investment, intended production and projected employment. They do not establish the amount Motorola ultimately spent, whether all equipment was installed, whether or when the fab began production, or how many jobs materialized. Nor do they establish what later became of semiconductor operations at the Dunfermline site. The planned outcomes should not be treated as confirmed results.

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This was Motorola Inc. in 2000

The headline refers to Motorola Inc.’s semiconductor business in 2000. It is not a new acquisition announcement. Current Motorola Solutions material describes public-safety and enterprise-security operations and an Edinburgh technology office, rather than a renewed plan to acquire a semiconductor fab (Motorola Solutions: About; Motorola Solutions: Edinburgh).

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