TSMC's US Plant Falls Behind Due to Union Opposition... Japanese Facility, Started Late, Nears Completion

Operation Delayed Due to Labor Shortage in US Factory Construction

The Japanese factory of Taiwan's TSMC, a semiconductor manufacturing company holding 60% of the global foundry market share, is reported to have entered the final stages of construction.

TSMC Kumamoto Factory

According to Taiwanese media including China Times on the 5th, the Japanese factory that TSMC began establishing in April last year in Kikuyo-machi, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is nearing completion. The local Japanese media Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun reported that the factory's white exterior walls have already appeared.

If Kumamoto Plant 1 brings in equipment by the end of this year as planned and starts production of processed products from the end of next year, it will begin operations earlier than the Phoenix plant in Arizona, USA, which started construction first in 2021.

TSMC's original plan was to operate the first phase of the Arizona plant's processing facilities from next year, but due to a recent shortage of construction specialists, the initial operation has been postponed to 2025.

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

TSMC tried to bring skilled engineers from its headquarters in Taiwan to fill the workforce, but this has also become difficult due to opposition from local unions in Arizona.

According to Taiwanese media, the total number of employees at Kumamoto Plant 1 is 1,700. Of these, TSMC plans to dispatch about 750 people locally, including 400 employees and 350 family members, while the remaining 1,300 will be secured through employees dispatched from the Sony Group and new hires.

The Japanese government stated, "To revive the semiconductor manufacturing industry, which is important for Japan's growth and economic security, we will cooperate with TSMC, the world's top-level company," and after supporting Kumamoto Plant 1 with 476 billion yen (approximately 4.2995 trillion KRW), it announced it will also support about 33% of the establishment costs for Plant 2.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.