Worker shortage endangers US chip production plans - Taipei Times
Front Page
Taiwan News
Business
Editorial & Opinion
Sports
World News
Features
Bilingual Pages
Search<br>Search
All<br>Front Page<br>Taiwan News<br>Business<br>Editorial & Opinion<br>Sports<br>World News<br>Features<br>Bilingual Pages
GO
Home
Business
Thu, Jul 09, 2026 page9
Worker shortage endangers US chip production plans
Bloomberg
A growing nationwide shortage of high-skilled workers threatens to delay construction of billions of dollars in new semiconductor plants across the US and constrain future chip production unless the industry pools resources and the government keeps up funding, a new report said.<br>The deficit is expected to be most acute in states such as Texas, California, Arizona, New York and Ohio, where many of the new facilities are being planned, according to new analysis including a survey of employers from McKinsey & Co, the chip industry group SEMI and the National Science Foundation. Altogether, the skilled labor deficit is projected to reach as much as 157,000 full-time workers by 2030, the study released on Tuesday showed.<br>The dearth of talent risks stalling plans by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to invest as much as US$265 billion in a dozen chipmaking and packaging facilities in Arizona, as well as Micron Technology Inc’s vision to spend US$100 billion on memory production in New York and Samsung Electronics Co’s logic chip facility in Texas. Even Intel Corp’s delayed US$28 billion investment in Ohio is set for shortages once production ramps up, the report said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s fab in Phoenix, Arizona is pictured on March 3 last year.
Photo: Bloomberg
The challenge marks the latest hurdle for chipmakers seeking to expand their manufacturing footprint in the US and reverse the migration of production capacity to Asia that unfolded decades ago. Rising prices for a wide range of goods, including copper, steel and cement, threaten to increase the cost of construction for new facilities billed as a centerpiece of US President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.<br>This labor gap risks undermining not only the billions of dollars in planned investment by companies, but also the federal grants aimed at boosting US production under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the report said.
The report recommended a range of solutions, including continued government funding, expanded curriculum on semiconductors and earlier exposure to chip industry careers.<br>“There’s just not enough talent to go around,” said Taylor Roundtree, a partner at McKinsey who helped with the analysis. “Folks are realizing that the potential gap is so large that they collectively do have to solve it.”<br>By 2030, about 74 percent of the semiconductor industry’s unfilled roles would be in manufacturing and 60 percent in engineering, the study showed. While CHIPS Act-funded programs have helped to increase the number of technicians available, those initiatives have hardly made a dent in addressing the need for manufacturing and hardware engineers.<br>Already, nearly three-quarters of employers are reporting significant difficulty in hiring engineers, according to the survey, which canvassed semiconductor companies. The root of the problem is that few US engineering students go on to work in the chip industry, with most opting for more lucrative software-related fields like artificial intelligence.
Most Popular
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
Typhoon rocks Saipan; might pass Taiwan by
Impact of Typhoon Bavi to peak Friday, Saturday
Typhoon Bavi to bring heavy rain from Friday, warnings expected
Badminton star ponders future
You might also like
Chinese firm sells hyper-real, ‘always loyal’ humanoid robots
2026-07-05
Their metallic frames covered in supple, lifelike skin, a posse of new Chinese robots meant for companionship can offer users artificial intelligence (AI)-generated conversation or a hand to hold, complete with manicured nails.<br>The company UBTech says its U1 robot — equipped with eye cameras, chest sensors and listening microphones — is the world’s first full-sized, ultra-realistic humanoid designed for mass production.<br>Touted as an antidote to loneliness, the robots are priced at 119,800 yuan (US$17,600) for the most basic type and 990,000 yuan (US$145,700) for an “ultra” version with more advanced features.<br>“Our bionic robots can accompany you for a lifetime,” Michael
By Ludovic Ehret
US unlikely to match TSMC’s Taiwan production capacity, minister says
2026-07-03
ARIZONA INVESTMENT:<br>The Taiwanese semiconductor firm has gained approval for a US$20 billion capital injection into its its wholly owned US subsidiary The US is unlikely to match Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) production capacity in Taiwan despite the chipmaker’s expansion in Arizona, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.<br>TSMC has already announced plans for a total of 16...