TSMC bounces back from Taiwan earthquake – top chipmaker says production is already back up to speed despite devastating earthquake
On Wednesday, April 3, Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years killed at least nine people and injured or trapped hundreds more. The magnitude 7.4 earthquake was followed by more than 200 aftershocks, dozens of which had magnitudes of at least 6.5.
Taiwan, which regularly experiences earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, produces 80-90% of high-end chips for advanced applications such as smartphones and AI. Although the epicenter of the massive earthquake was on the eastern side of Taiwan, in Hualien province, it was strong enough to be felt in the capital Taipei, about 150 kilometers south. This led TSMC, the main contract chipmaker for Apple, Nvidia and AMD, to evacuate employees and suspend operations.
Although there were fears that this could have serious consequences for the global smartphone industry, the company quickly addressed the concerns.
No major damage
In a statement issued late on the day of the earthquake and reported by BloombergTSMC said: “There is no damage to our critical tools, including all of our extreme ultraviolet lithography instruments.”
A few tools goods damaged at some facilities, but nothing that caused significant delays. Reportedly, 70 to 80% of TSMC’s machines were back online within 10 hours of the earthquake.
While TSMC may have gotten off lightly this time, concerns about the future remain. Tom’s hardware reports: “The earthquake came as governments around the world have considered bringing chip production back home, and are concerned about consolidating production in a region that is both a potential military hotspot and located near two tectonic plates are located. That’s part of the reason why the United States has given huge CHIPS Act subsidies to Intel and others to build and expand domestic factories. TSMC is also building a U.S. factory in Arizona and expects more than $5 billion in incentives.”