The war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip, on the country's high-tech industry has led to serious consequences ،

The Israeli newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" pointed out that the technology industry in Israel is facing a crisis that is negatively reflected on the country's economy, with the recruitment of a large number of Israelis working in this field in military service.

 

Edited by| Hugh Gey

 

Economic  section -  CJ journalist

 

Tel Aviv - October,21,2023

 

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"In most large companies there are a large number of young employees, according to estimates, 10-15 percent of them have been called up for reserve service, while others are forced to stay at home with their children, "the newspaper said.

"Funding from companies is also being diverted to helping residents of evacuated areas, providing equipment to the IDF, and various volunteer activities taking place in the country,"he said.

It is noteworthy that Israel has a significant impact on the global computer chip industry, as it is one of the few countries outside East Asia that manufactures and develops chips.

The most prominent company in the field of semiconductors is "Intel", which has been operating in Israel for almost 50 years and employs more than 12 thousand people at 5 main headquarters.

The company announced its latest high-speed desktop processor on the market, the Fourteenth generation, developed under the leadership of its teams in Israel.

Its huge manufacturing facility, which supplies a large part of the world's computer processors, is located in Kiryat Gat, just 30 minutes from the Gaza border, and according to documents this city was one of the targets of a surprise Hamas attack on October 7th.

The development center of "Nvidia", where chips for artificial intelligence systems are made, is also located in Yokneam, about an hour's drive from the northern border with Lebanon.

In addition, "Google" has already opened its own chip development center in Israel, and "Amazon" employs more than 1,500 people in the country.

According to the "Nvidia" statement, about 12 percent of the company's 3,300 employees in Israel have been conscripted into military reserve service, noting that one of the company's employees and his girlfriend are among the prisoners held by Hamas.

"Yedioth Ahronoth" says that the planning of the schedule for the development of technological products is carried out years before the scheduled launch date, and any small delay in this development can hit the plans of large companies hard.

For example, the newspaper pointed out that "Apple", which recently launched the "iPhone 15", is already working on the development of components for the "iPhone 17", which will be launched in two years in the coastal city of Herzliya, Western Israel.

"Yedioth Ahronoth" emphasizes that the top executives of major technology companies in Israel, many of whom served in the army, are well aware that their company offices abroad are anxiously following what is happening in Israel.

Moreover, amdox, which employs about 5 thousand people in Israel and had to close its headquarters near Sderot, reported that "many foreign employees volunteered to take over the tasks of local teams in Israel".

Microsoft, on the other hand, says that "there are no delays or interruptions in current projects inside Israel".

Although most companies have allowed their employees the flexibility to work from wherever they choose, a prolonged war can delay important technology projects, and therefore affect the industry globally in the long run.