Chips bill won’t help American-made businesses for ‘years to come’: Tech CEO
Hologic’s Stephen MacMillan warns of ‘unintended consequences’ when government gets too involved in industrial policy
Newly-passed chips bill won’t impact US-made products for ‘years to come’: Hologic CEO
While Hologic CEO Stephen MacMillan ‘welcomes’ the idea of expanding domestic microchip production, he warns the $280 billion chips bill won’t have an impact for years.
As the House prepares to vote on the $52 billion chips bill today after the Senate passed it on a 64-33 vote, one tech CEO expressed mixed feelings about the bill’s implications on "Mornings with Maria" Thursday.
"I always do worry a little bit about the government getting too involved in industrial policy, because oftentimes there are unintended consequences," Hologic CEO Stephen MacMillan told FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo.
Hologic, a health diagnostic and testing company, has felt the brunt of the microchip shortage and supply chain disruptions, but its CEO fears the plan to boost semiconductor production won’t help soon enough.
"Clearly, the implications of this chips bill won't affect us for years to come, by the time they build these big foundries and everything else," MacMillan said.
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The technology industry largely relies on outsourcing its microchips from Asia, which Hologic’s CEO called the company’s "biggest challenge" since their mammography machines are entirely made in the USA.
Hologic CEO Stephen MacMillan warns the $52 billion plan to boost semiconductor production could have "unitended consequences" on "Mornings with Maria" on Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Reuters Photos)
"We make them in Connecticut and in Delaware, and have done that all through the years, and have resisted the urge to outsource them to other parts of the world – because we believed in American labor, we believed in the quality, particularly of our products," MacMillan explained.
However, the company feels appreciative of the bill’s initiative to build on microchip production in the U.S. and streamline the supply chain.
"As a company that has largely kept all of our production in the United States, we welcome the idea of, frankly, some of the chip production coming back to this country," MacMillan noted.
Despite the chip shortage, Hologic’s third-quarter earnings beat expectations and topped revenue estimates. MacMillan pointed out strong long-term growth in surgical equipment and women’s health diagnostics.
"There's still pent-up demand because so many women, and particularly, I'd say in mammography, there's still a lot of women who put off their exams during COVID," Hologic’s CEO said.
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Health diagnostic company Hologic feeling ‘great’ about long-term growth, beating earnings estimates: CEO
Hologic CEO Stephen MacMillan says the health testing business has seen the most growth in surgical and women’s health needs over the last quarter.
Also discussing inflation’s impact on health and hospital care, MacMillan called it a "very concerning time" for inflationary pressures eating away at profits.
"As always, we will find a way through this," the CEO predicted. "And I think getting inflation under control is clearly the most important step, particularly to help the hospitals out as we go here."