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In a setback to President Biden’s technology goals, chipmaking behemoth Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) has postponed the start of production at its factory in the US state of Arizona. Due to a lack of experienced staff, the company says chip manufacture will not begin in 2019.
Planned increases in US chip output have been announced by the White House. It occurs as a trade dispute between Washington and Beijing over the technology picks up steam.
The price of TSMC’s shares decreased by more than 3% on Friday in Taiwan.
Mark Liu, chairman of TSMC, announced on Thursday that the company’s Arizona factory in the southwest of the US would now start producing advanced microprocessors in 2025. Mr. Liu stated at an earnings presentation that there was a lack of people with the “specialized expertise required for equipment installation in a semiconductor-grade facility” at the plant, which has been under construction since April 2021.
He continued by saying that the company was “working to improve the situation, including sending experienced technicians from Taiwan to temporarily train the local skilled workers [in the US].”
Additionally, TSMC predicted a 10% decline in sales this year as a result of a weaker semiconductor market. In comparison to the same period last year, the company reported that its profits dropped by almost 23% to 181.8 billion Taiwanese dollars ($5.8 billion; £4.5 billion) in the three months ending in June.
In 2020, during Donald Trump’s presidency, TSMC made its initial announcement regarding the construction of a factory in Arizona. The company said in December of last year that it will more than treble its investment in the project to $40 billion (£31.1 billion). One of the biggest foreign investments in American history occurred with this.
At the time, Mr. Liu stated that the Arizona plant’s two TSMC semiconductor production facilities would each be operational by 2024 and 2026, respectively. As part of a protracted technology dispute, the US has taken several actions against China’s chip manufacturing sector while simultaneously investing billions of dollars to expand its semiconductor sector.
About 10% of the world’s supply of computer chips, which are essential to everything from autos to mobile phones, are made in the US. The nation produced over 40% of the world’s output in 1990.
President Biden signed legislation last year allocating $280 billion to US high-tech industries and scientific research. Tax incentives were included in the investment for businesses that established factories here to make computer chips.
Source- BBC News
