Intel to close Costa Rica assembly plant: a wake-up call for a high-value investment strategy

CENTRAL AMERICA - In Brief 28 Jul 2025 by Fernando Naranjo
Last week, semiconductor giant Intel announced it will shut down its assembly and testing operations in Costa Rica, relocating them in Malaysia and Vietnam. The move represents a significant setback for the country, given Intel’s outsized role in boosting service export figures. Prior to the company’s return, Costa Rica’s transformation service exports averaged around $114 million per year. In the two years following Intel’s reinvestment, that figure surged to $750 million annually. Between 2020 and 2023, Intel invested approximately $1.5 billion in the country, according to company reports. In 2024, it had announced plans for an additional $1.2 billion reinvestment a commitment that now appears unlikely to materialize. More troubling is the fact that Intel’s departure is not an isolated case. Qorvo, another semiconductor company, has also announced the closure of its operations in Costa Rica and Pfizer recently confirmed it is reviewing its local workforce strategy. These developments may reflect deeper structural issues among them, the sharp appreciation of the domestic currency, which has eroded competitiveness, and the absence of forward-looking public policies to support the definitive regime and retain high-value-added investments. Without a strategic shift, Costa Rica risks weakening one of the pillars of its long-term growth model.

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