- By Annabelle Liang
- business reporter
image source, beautiful pictures
President Biden at TSMC’s Arizona factory
Chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) has delayed the start of production at its plant in the US state of Arizona, in a setback to President Biden’s technology ambitions.
The company said chip production will no longer begin next year due to a shortage of skilled workers.
The White House has outlined a plan to bring more chip manufacturing to the United States.
It comes as an ongoing row of trade focused on technology intensifies between Washington and Beijing.
On Thursday, TSMC President Mark Liu said production of advanced microprocessors at its Arizona plant in the southwestern United States will begin in 2025.
During the earnings presentation, Mr. Liu said the plant, which has been under construction since April 2021, faces a shortage of workers with “the necessary expertise to install equipment in a semiconductor-grade facility.”
He added that the company is “working to improve the situation, including sending experienced technicians from Taiwan to train local skilled workers.” [in the US] In a short time”.
TSMC also forecasts a 10% drop in sales this year due to slowing demand for semiconductors.
The company said its profit fell about 23% to NT$181.8 billion ($5.8 billion; £4.5 billion) in the three months to the end of June, compared with the same period last year.
TSMC first announced plans to build a facility in Arizona in 2020, under President Donald Trump.
At the time, Mr. Liu said the first of TSMC’s two semiconductor manufacturing facilities at the Arizona plant would be operational in 2024, and the second in 2026.
The protracted technology dispute has seen the US impose a raft of measures against China’s chipmaking industry, while investing billions of dollars to boost the US semiconductor industry.
The United States produces about 10% of the global supply of computer chips, which are key to everything from cars to cell phones. In 1990, the country accounted for nearly 40% of global production.
The investment includes tax breaks for companies building computer chip factories in the country.
