Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will delay production at its new chip plant in Arizona to 2025 due to a shortage of skilled labor, the company’s chairman said on its second quarter earnings call Thursday. The company is working to send trained technicians from Taiwan to train local workers to help accelerate equipment installation.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu told analysts on an earnings call Thursday that the company does not have enough skilled workers to install advanced equipment at the facility on its initial timeline. The company previously anticipated that it would begin making 5-nanometer chips in 2024.
Liu said the company is working to send trained technicians from Taiwan to train local workers to help accelerate installation.
The U.S. has embarked on a major push to bring semiconductor manufacturing back stateside, including through funding the multi-billion dollar Chips and Science Act to turbocharge development. The pandemic highlighted the significant dependence the U.S. has on countries like Taiwan to develop computer chips, creating a national security risk and giving the U.S. less control over the supply chain.
MacDailyNews Take: Last December, TSMC said it would more than triple its planned investment at its new Arizona plant to $40 billion, among the largest foreign investments in U.S. history. It’s obviously going to take more than just money to get things up and running.
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