As part of a multi-billion dollar investment drive across Europe to increase chip production, Intel announced on Friday that it would invest up to $4.6 billion in a new semiconductor assembly and test plant close to Wroclaw, Poland.

In an effort to take advantage of the European Commission’s loosened funding requirements and subsidies as the EU strives to reduce its reliance on U.S. and Asian supply, the U.S. chipmaker revealed plans to build a sizable chip complex in Germany along with facilities in Ireland and France last year.

The company stated in a statement that the Polish factory will employ 2,000 people and generate thousands more jobs during the development phase and hiring by suppliers.

“Poland was just a little bit hungrier to win this site,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a news conference.

A number of nations have been competing to get Intel to invest in their areas, and some, like Germany, who have managed to reach an agreement with Intel, have been in discussions on the level of subsidies they may offer.

The German government and Intel were reportedly close to reaching an agreement for 9.9 billion euros ($10.83 billion) in subsidies, up from the previously agreed 6.8 billion, according to the Handelsblatt daily on Thursday.

“We are not asking for handouts, we are asking for competitiveness,” Gelsinger said in an interview.

“Labour costs have gone up substantially, material costs have gone up substantially, so all of a sudden, the cost gap was bigger than we had originally estimated.”

On Monday, Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, will meet with Gelsinger, according to a government spokesman in Berlin.

Gelsinger said he wants to reach an agreement but declined to go into specifics about the subsidy amount.

“The gaps are too big. If we close them, we shake hands, and we are going forward,” Gelsinger said.

During the announcement on Friday, the amount of any subsidies Poland may have provided to Intel was not disclosed.

The facility’s planning and design will start right away, and building will start after receiving clearance from the European Commission.

The factory built by Intel was referred to as “the largest greenfield investment in Poland’s history” by Mateusz Morawiecki, the country’s prime minister.

The business, which has 4,000 employees and has been operating in the nation for 30 years, cited Poland’s talent pool, infrastructure, and location in relation to both its proposed facility in Germany and its site in Ireland as factors in its decision.

By 2027, it anticipates the facility to be operational.

To regain its position as the industry leader in chip manufacturing and more effectively compete with AMD, Nvidia, and Samsung, Intel under Gelsinger has invested billions in the construction of plants on three continents.

(Adapted from USNews.com)