Corning to add 1000 jobs on Amazon fiber-optic deal

Corning and Amazon have signed a major new fiber-optic supply agreement that will create 1000 new jobs at the glass company’s facilities in North Carolina.

Destined for data centers operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Corning’s optical fiber and cable connectivity solutions will be deployed across the new generation of infrastructure being used to host AI offerings.

News of the Amazon deal comes just a month after Corning announced an agreement with AI chip giant Nvidia to increase its US-based optical connectivity manufacturing capacity by an order of magnitude, to meet the accelerating demand driven by AI factory build-outs. Corning has also recently signed a multi-year deal with Meta that is expected to be worth up to $6 billion.

Fusion splicing

Matt Garman, the CEO of AWS, commented: “Amazon's investments in North Carolina have created more than 26,000 jobs across the state. This multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning continues that commitment, channeling investment into American manufacturing and creating 1000 new jobs at their facilities near our data centers.

“We're also partnering to train North Carolinians for highly skilled roles in fiber optics and fusion splicing. These long-term investments create long-term careers and real opportunity in the communities where we operate.”

As part of the new supply agreement, Amazon will work with Corning on a new program to expand training of fiber-optic technicians at Catawba Valley Community College for careers in fiber optic manufacturing and related technical roles.

“The program provides hands-on education and courses that will increase the talent pool and offer pathways to high-paying technical roles.” Corning said.

“The efforts will help strengthen the domestic supply chain and US manufacturing base while serving the region and state to help expand residential and commercial fiber densification efforts.”

Corning CEO Wendell Weeks added: “This agreement with Amazon represents a significant milestone for Corning and for American manufacturing.

“For 175 years, Corning has pioneered the technologies that connect people and transform industries. Amazon's investment will help us expand production, create 1000 new advanced manufacturing jobs at our facilities, and lead the way toward building a resilient US manufacturing base.”

Exponential demand curve

In its latest financial results, for the three months ending March 31, Corning said optical fiber sales had jumped 35 per cent year-on-year, to $1.85 billion, with Weeks telling investors that two hyperscaler deals of a similar nature to the Meta agreement were in place.

During an investor presentation last month the firm predicted that its new photonics “market access platform” would play a major role driving the firm’s annual sales revenues from around $20 billion in 2026 to some $40 billion by the end of the decade.

Weeks and his colleagues see a major new optical network opportunity unfolding in AI data centers, with photonics providing the necessary connectivity for technologies such as Nvidia’s new “Vera Rubin” optical AI engine through co-packaged optics (CPO).

“Our estimate is that optical content will increase 1.3x to 1.5x per GPU by 2028,” they reported in May, saying that the CPO opportunity would start with so-called “scale-out” applications, before “optical scale-up” drives an exponential demand curve. 

• Following news of the Amazon agreement, Corning’s stock price rose sharply on the NYSE, and has now doubled in value since the start of the year to stand at just over $180, equivalent to a market capitalization of around $160 billion.