The Daily Dig:
Meta announced an up to $6 billion, multi-year agreement with Corning to supply fiber optic cables for Meta's U.S. data centers. Meta framed the move as a domestic manufacturing play tied to its AI infrastructure needs, with fiber connectivity called out as critical to moving data in near real time.
Meta said the agreement enables Corning to expand manufacturing operations in North Carolina and add jobs, including a 15% to 20% increase in jobs at Corning's North Carolina facilities. Corning also cited a significant capacity expansion at the Trivium Corporate Center in Catawba County, North Carolina. The company said the investment supports a highly skilled workforce of more than 5,000 across its North Carolina operations, including teams at two of the world's largest optical fiber and cable manufacturing facilities.
Snapshot:
Buyer: Meta
Supplier: Corning
What's Being Supplied: Fiber optic cables
Intended Use: Meta data center infrastructure (AI infrastructure)
Agreement Value: Up to $6 billion
Term: Multi-year Manufacturing
Ā Impact: Expansion of Corning manufacturing operations in North Carolina
Capacity Add: Significant expansion at Trivium Corporate Center (Catawba County, NC)
Workforce Impact: 15% to 20% job increase at Corning's NC facilities
TheJobWalk Thoughts:
This is the kind of upstream procurement deal that quietly shapes what happens in the field downstream. When you lock in fiber supply at this scale, you're taking a ton of risk off the table for long-lead materials feeding tight, mission critical schedules. You're also giving the manufacturer enough certainty to expand capacity and hire people without having to guess what's coming. For folks building these projects, it's a good reminder that "data center work" isn't just concrete pours and switchgear installs. There's a whole domestic manufacturing supply chain behind those racks, and right now it's getting real investment and real attention.
