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TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

9to5mac.com

41–48 of 48 posts

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"this is not how we do it in Taiwan" Reminds me of the movie Gung Ho where the Japanese are trying to build cars in 80's America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKNeFHBPgRo

or Chinese LCD factory in Ohio https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9351980/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk - American Factory

Is it an accurate documentary, or is it some over dramatized Netflix piece like Drive to survive?

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#42
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really don't think you can just import scientists and engineers and essentially develop TSMC. I think it's more a question of being willing to spend the money you need to stay at the cutting edge. Based purely on market logic, you can't build a TMSC because it would be too expensive and risky for modern-day capitalist investors to contemplate. But if you have resources and don't care about making a profit in the…

Seems like starting an automotive manufacturing company would be far worse as a prospect yet they are popping up everywhere. That automotive industry has always been a case study in great ideas failing hard. If you succeed you get to compete with everyone else who has to fight and scratch for a profit while juggling one of the most complex undertakings imaginable. There are 150 year old established brands like Chrysl…

Chrysler is only 98 years old, not 150.

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#43
post #33
post #28

I’ve heard that the problem isn’t the lack of skilled engineers in AZ, but the union trades. At Intel they have to prepare the location for an electrical pull three days ahead of time. The pull must be between 9am and 4pm, M-F. I expect the unions are making similar demands at TSMC, and the Taiwanese, just like every other American business owner are pissed. However the Taiwanese think that bringing over people to do…

Yes you're probably right. The governor of Arizona doesn't realize what the most important issue in her state is right now, but you do.

She’s a politician. The most important issue in her state right now is the next election. That’s true for every politician.

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#44
post #2

Everyone knew that this was just a PR move. This was the intended result. Some policy wonk somewhere thought that this was all on the up-and-up, but everyone else involved, from Apple to TSMC, and all of the mid level politicians that showed up for the photo ops knew that this was virtue signaling for votes, kickbacks, and subsidies/tax breaks.

Given the Chinese stated goal to recapture Taiwan and its recent mandates of state ownership, TSMCs reliance on Taiwan soil facilities is an existential threat to their business as a private enterprise. On the one hand keeping the semiconductor dependent on Taiwan solidifies their defense by being critical to global supply chains, on the other that may not be enough. As a business they need to prepare for the loss of…

They aren't asking to bring their PHDs or material science people... my understanding is they are asking to bring project managers, foremen, construction workers, pipe fitters and electricians.

I live about 10 minutes away from the plant and anecdotally from what I can see of the Taiwanese employees, most seem to be people who are in jeans and cotton work shirts... not button downs or polos.

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#45
post #28

I’ve heard that the problem isn’t the lack of skilled engineers in AZ, but the union trades. At Intel they have to prepare the location for an electrical pull three days ahead of time. The pull must be between 9am and 4pm, M-F. I expect the unions are making similar demands at TSMC, and the Taiwanese, just like every other American business owner are pissed. However the Taiwanese think that bringing over people to do…

That's what they keep saying, but other projects seem to be able to get stuff built just fine if they are paying market rates.

From what I hear, they are being extremely tight with their budget, while simultaneously demanding aggressive timelines. These things are for the most part, mutually exclusive.

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#46
post #32
post #28

I’ve heard that the problem isn’t the lack of skilled engineers in AZ, but the union trades. At Intel they have to prepare the location for an electrical pull three days ahead of time. The pull must be between 9am and 4pm, M-F. I expect the unions are making similar demands at TSMC, and the Taiwanese, just like every other American business owner are pissed. However the Taiwanese think that bringing over people to do…

Scheduling work between 9-4 M-F is the reason for massive delays and budget overruns? Union tradesmen purely to blame? Here’s a comment from another article linked in the OP to give another side to the story: “I have intimate knowledge of this project from the beginning. There are multiple causes for this project being behind schedule and over budget. They all stem from TSMC themselves. First, TSMC and their engineer…

I'd like to see other sources that they don't pay for subcontractors. I don't think 9to5 and its comments are good sources for semiconductor manufacturing.

At the same time, Japan's TSMC fab (JASM), building is on schedule and don't see such problems. Maybe lower salary and similar work culture contribute flawless building.

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#47
post #6
post #3

Used to be that the US would just import scientists and engineers then develop stuff themselves. It'll be interesting in a few years to learn if this Arizona plant was just one head of the capitalist hydra and its success or failure didn't really matter all that much. I suspect that the US doesn't need to import technology in that manner to get good results; it never has in the past and I don't think that much has ch…

I really don't think you can just import scientists and engineers and essentially develop TSMC. It's not the sixties anymore, Intel has a massive R&D budget but they are not currently able to compete with TSMC. Technology is also quite advanced, I doubt it's just a few years of R&D. In fact, it's so expensive, there are only a few factories on earth capable on producing those chips. China would have done it already i…

> It's not the sixties anymore, Intel has a massive R&D budget but they are not currently able to compete with TSMC.

If it isn't a matter of budget then it is a combination of organisation, regulation and focus. All of those things can change fairly quickly. Under ideal conditions, Intel could get to TSMC's leading process node in a few years.

Re: TSMC Arizona chip plant will be a paperweight

#48
post #29

Importing 500 skilled Taiwanese workers seems like a no-brainer. I don't understand this mentality that those wouldn't count as "US jobs". They would massively lift the local economy. The article also seems incredibly short-sighted, but since it's coming from an Apple clickbait farm that's not too surprising.

Importing 500 skilled Taiwanese workers is a no-brainer business decision. But American politics is motivated by strange nativism, e.g. "They're taking our jerbs!"
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