Taiwan chipmaker TSMC has reached an agreement with an Arizona labor union on the construction of the new chip factory, or fab, being built in the state. The agreement announced Wednesday appears to have reduced tensions between union workers and Taiwan’s most valuable company.
A joint statement released by TSMC and the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council (AZBTC), lays out a framework for cooperation on the project. The statement says TSMC is committed to recruiting qualified local talent to complete the fab, but that “circumstance may require” hiring non-local workers with “specialized experience”. Unions had previously criticized TSMC for bringing in lower-paid Taiwanese workers to complete the project. However, the fabs do require the use of highly advanced machinery, some of which has never been installed in the United States before.
The agreement also announced the creation of a committee made of up both union and company representatives to meet quarterly to discuss several issues including manpower needs.
The new Arizona fab represents a US$40 billion investment by TSMC, the largest single foreign direct investment in the state’s history. The fab was originally scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024, but TSMC has now extended that date into 2025. The company had said that the delay was due to difficulty in finding enough skilled labor to build the plant, a comment which led to criticisms from local unions.