Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced earlier this year that it will triple its Phoenix campus over the next decade-plus , positioning itself to become one of Arizona’s largest employers.
Why it matters: The Valley rallied to ensure residents were ready to fill the thousands of high-wage, high-tech jobs the company promised when it announced its arrival in Arizona five years ago.
- But the next wave of TSMC workforce development will require capturing workers at every entry point: recent high school graduates, mid-career laborers displaced by automation, food-service workers who never considered a job in the tech industry and top engineering graduates with post-secondary degrees.
Threat level: Failing to meet the moment could cost the Valley more than just squandered high-paying jobs.
- It could also amount to a national security shortfall of epic proportions — the U.S. sees TSMC’s investment here as the first major step to decrease its reliance on foreign semiconductor manufacturing.
State of play: TSMC’s first Phoenix fab, or fabrication plant, began production last year, employing 3,000 workers. By the time its third fab opens by the end of the decade, the company anticipates needing 6,000 total employees, TSMC Arizona president Rose Castanares told Axios.
- TSMC will build another three fabs, two advanced packaging facilities and a research and development center over the coming decades, and Castanares said to expect employee growth at a similar clip until build-out.
The big picture: The semiconductor industry is not new to Phoenix . But the scope and speed of TSMC’s investment here and its technological advancement mean there are not nearly enough readily qualified employees to meet TSMC’s planned growth…