2023-08-26 07:18:24
The situation is tense between TSMC and the unions around the site of factories for electronic chips in Arizona, in the United States. Faced with a shortage of skilled labor, the Taiwanese chip giant plans to bring in workers from Taiwan to speed up construction. A decision strongly criticized by American trade unions, reports the “Wall Street Journal”.
The unions believe that bringing in workers from overseas would undermine one of the main objectives of the Chips Act, namely the creation of domestic jobs in the industry. This vast plan plans to encourage the manufacture of chips on American soil, with the backing of public subsidies. The majority of sophisticated semiconductors today are made in Taiwan and South Korea.
Threat of labor shortage
These tensions come to crystallize concerns about the lack of American manpower. A study by Oxford and the Semiconductor Industry Association predicts a shortage of about 67,000 workers in the United States by 2030, Archyde.com reported in late July. At the current rate of training, the country will not produce enough qualified professionals to meet the growing need for talent.
The Biden administration remains reassuring about the state of the labor market, saying the situation in Arizona does not reflect a general shortage. “Companies from all over the world are investing in the United States because they know we have the best engineers, scientists and workers in the world,” said Robyn Patterson, the White House spokeswoman.
A $40 billion project
The stakes are high on the other side of the Atlantic. TSMC factories are expected to be the cornerstone of US chip sovereignty policy. The Taiwanese giant had announced the construction of two factories in the state of Arizona, at the end of 2022. In total, the company will invest 40 billion dollars, with recourse to American subsidies. An investment whose amount had been tripled after the vote on the Chips Act in the summer of 2022.
The first plant to be delivered in 2024 specializes in 4-nanometer etching chips. Its opening has been postponed to 2025, due to the shortage of qualified personnel. The second plant is planned for 2026 and will reach 3 nanometers. Some 12,000 people are already working on the sites. About 500 temporary workers will come from Taiwan to supplement the workforce. Unions have already approached members of the US Congress to ask them to block visas.
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