TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Chair Mark Liu (劉德音) said the semiconductor giant’s Arizona factory is making “fast progress” despite being mired in setbacks, including a petition from a labor union calling for Taiwanese workers to be barred from the project.
Liu conceded that construction of the U.S. plant would not be “running as smoothly as in Taiwan,” but said “the morale of our Arizona colleagues is very high, and they have made fast progress in the past few months," per AFP. He said Arizona state officials were unanimously supporting the project to resolve all issues, “including the labor issue.”
Reports of poor working conditions and criticism from labor unions and workers have dogged the project. In August, the Arizona Pipe Trades 469 Union started a petition to prevent visas from being issued to foreign workers, after TSMC said it would send Taiwanese staff to help with project delays.
“TSMC has shown a lack of respect for American workers, placing profit above worker safety and deliberately misrepresenting the quality, skills, and experience of Arizona’s workforce,” the petition said.
Liu said the company has been increasing its communication with unions and the local community recently. “I think much progress has been made in recent weeks ... We will execute the project successfully," he said.
Despite the union’s opposition, at least some of the Taiwanese workers and their families who have been sent to work on the project are being received warmly. One principal of an Arizona primary school told ABC15 Arizona that the school has been incorporating parts of Taiwanese culture into the classroom so new students feel a part of the local community.
“(We do) things like that to really show that we love having them here,” the principal said.
Liu made the comments at industry expo Semicon in Taipei, where he also said TSMC’s investment in a new semiconductor factory in Germany announced last month was going very well. "We are currently applying for subsidies with the German government and the EU," he said.