A Taiwanese microchip manufacturer building its first U.S. plant in Arizona has agreed to more scrutiny from the state when it comes to the safety of construction workers.
Just off the I-17 and Loop 303, where the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is building its new plant, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the details.
“We are signing a voluntary protection program between the state and TSMC that will raise the bar for workplace standards. Under this agreement, TSMC will adhere to requirements higher than those at the federal level," Hobbs said.
Those standards include greater transparency for workers and closer oversight from the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Hobbs also announced a new initiative to double the number of registered construction and trade apprentices in Arizona over three years.
Construction started in 2021 on more than 1,100 acres of land. The facility will use TSMC’s 5-nanometer technology for semiconductor wafer fabrication and have the capacity to produce 20,000 wafers per month.
The company has received some criticism for bringing in some workers from Taiwan to help with construction. But TSMC has said the jobs of thousands of U.S. workers already on site will not be affected.
TSMC has delayed the start of production at the facility until 2025 because of the lack of skilled workers.
