Amazon, Corning ink multibillion-dollar deal to ramp up fiber optics manufacturing

Amazon, Corning ink multibillion-dollar deal to ramp up fiber optics manufacturing Corning's optical cable manufacturing campus in Hickory, North Carolina, which it opened in 2023. · Manufacturing Dive · Courtesy of Corning Inc. Sara Samora Tue, June 9, 2026 at 2:33 PM GMT+2 3 min read AMZN GLW This story was originally published on Manufacturing Dive .

To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Manufacturing Dive newsletter . Dive Brief: Corning and Amazon have signed   a multibillion-dollar agreement to accelerate optical fiber, cable and connectivity manufacturing that will power Amazon’s expanding data center infrastructure across the United States, the companies announced Monday. The multiyear deal would create 1,000 jobs at Corning’s four manufacturing sites across North Carolina, as well as support a number of construction jobs related to the facilities’ expansion.

  Additionally, the two companies will work together on a new strategy to expand Corning’s fiber-optic technician training program with Catawba Valley Community College, which is located near the company’s optical communications campus in Hickory, North Carolina. Dive Insight: The training program will prepare Catawba Valley students for careers in fiber optics manufacturing and other related technical roles, according to the press release. The program will provide hands-on training and classes that aim to increase the talent pool, leading students to high-paying technical positions.

Furthermore, Corning and Amazon’s efforts will help bolster the domestic supply chain and manufacturing base. In addition to the Hickory manufacturing campus, Corning’s optical communications segment operates two fiber manufacturing plants in Wilmington and Concord, North Carolina. Corning also has five cable plants located in Newton and Winston-Salem.

  Corning will begin scaling and expanding its operations in North Carolina “right away” to support the agreement, Gabrielle Bailey, director of corporate and executive communications, said in an email. “Several of our facilities in NC have already been undergoing expansions to meet committed customer demand,” Bailey said. No other information was disclosed, and Corning declined to comment further.

However, CEO Wendell Weeks told Fox Business on Monday that Corning only announces what its customers want them to release. The latest deal builds on previous investments in North Carolina that both companies announced over the past year. In June 2025, Amazon said it was investing an estimated $10 billion to expand its data center infrastructure to support artificial intelligence and cloud computer technologies.

In January, Corning signed a multiyear $6 billion agreement with Meta Platforms to expand its manufacturing capabilities across its North Carolina facilities.  Under the deal, the company would supply Meta with the latest in optical fiber, cable and connectivity products.   Story Continues Corning and Meta broke ground on an expansion project at the Hickory site in April.

Corning’s optical cable factory in Hickory will benefit from “significant capacity expansion,” where Meta will serve as the anchor customer. Corning’s North Carolina sites are also benefiting from a $500 million agreement with Nvidia that the company inked in May. The deal aims to expand domestic manufacturing of the advanced optical connectivity products needed to power new AI-powered infrastructure, according to a press release .

Under the Nvidia agreement, Corning will expand its optical connectivity manufacturing capacity by 10 times and expand its U. S. fiber production capacity by more than 50% to meet the ongoing demand driven by AI factory buildouts.

The plan includes building three new advanced manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Texas, creating more than 3,000 jobs.