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Semiconductors
TechTech War

Taiwan’s TSMC puts hopes in new Japan chip fab amid frustration with US plant in Arizona

  • The chip maker prizes Japan’s network of chip equipment and materials suppliers, similarities in work culture and proximity to Taiwan
  • In Arizona, a shortage of skilled workers has forced the company to push back production at its first fab by a year to 2025

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Chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's logo seen at the island's Hsinchu Science Park. Photo: AFP
Reuters
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which is making an unprecedented push into chip manufacturing overseas, is taking an increasingly optimistic view of Japan as a production base, two industry sources said, as problems persist at its new factory in Arizona.
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TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, is frustrated in Arizona, the sources said, where it has struggled to recruit workers for the gruelling chip-making trade and faced pushback from unions on efforts to bring in workers from Taiwan.

The company has growing confidence in Japan, where an US$8.6 billion fab under construction in a chipmaking hub on the island of Kyushu is on track to start producing mature-technology chips in 2024, the sources said.

While keen to ensure a smooth ramp up at the first fab, the chip maker is considering adding capacity and a second fab in Japan, the sources said, which could include the production of more advanced chips.

Several chip industry sources spoke to Reuters about TSMC’s view of Japan and its global expansion on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The TSMC global R&D centre in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Photo: Reuters
The TSMC global R&D centre in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Photo: Reuters

Successful expansion by TSMC in Japan could give a boost to efforts by the country to regain its lost status as a chip manufacturing powerhouse and support its automotive and electronics industries amid growing regional competition.

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