Just last year, TSMC said vigorously that it would invest 40 billion US dollars to build a 3-nanometer factory in the United States. However, foreign media reported that TSMC’s U.S. 5-nanometer factory has been in trouble, and mass production has been postponed. Whether the 3-nanometer factory will be built is uncertain become a problem.
1. Trouble in American factories
Enticed by the US$52 billion chip subsidy in the US, TSMC suddenly accelerated the mass production process of the 5nm factory in the US in October last year. For this reason, 300 engineers from Taiwan, China were transported to the US, and even their families and pets were included. , It shows that TSMC is determined to promote the mass production process of the 5nm factory in the United States, and then TSMC announced that it will invest 40 billion US dollars to build a 3nm factory in the United States, which shows how determined TSMC was to support the United States at that time.
However, as the project progressed, TSMC encountered troubles one after another. First of all, American workers were unwilling to work overtime and night shifts. For this reason, 300 technical engineers from TSMC had to go to the United States. As a result, these engineers complained. They said that their salary is lower than that of American workers, but they do much more than American workers. Moreover, they originally went to the United States to do technology research and development, but now they are used as workers.
Now the local labor unions in the United States have also begun to make trouble. The local labor unions in the United States believe that TSMC sent personnel from Taiwan, China to the United States to work, robbed local jobs, and asked the United States to stop granting work visas to these technical engineers. The mass production process of the factory has caused huge troubles, and it also dictates the production of the factory, which seriously continues the mass production process of the factory.
Zhang Zhongmou, the founder of TSMC, once predicted that going to the United States to set up a factory would cause the cost of chip manufacturing to increase by 50%. The cost of workers' salaries, land, water and electricity, etc. has far exceeded expectations.
2. TSMC’s wish failed to come true
TSMC went to the United States to set up a factory, mainly considering to please the United States, so as to ensure that more orders for American chips will be handed over to TSMC. There are already four of them, and these American chip companies have cut costs one after another, and TSMC, which provides foundry services for American chip companies, has become a victim.
TSMC’s largest customer, Apple, has already made a move. Apple is the only customer of TSMC’s 3nm process. However, because TSMC’s 3nm process yield rate is as low as 55%, Apple asked TSMC to revise its charging rules. Considering that Apple is TSMC’s largest customer- - Contributing 26% of TSMC's revenue, TSMC can only succumb, changing from charging based on standard wafers to charging based on available wafers, which means that the cost of the other 45% of bad wafers can only be borne by TSMC.
Apple successfully forced TSMC to revise its charging rules, which encouraged other American chip companies. Although NVIDIA, another major customer, has made a lot of money, NVIDIA has asked TSMC to reduce foundry costs. In order to force TSMC to cut prices, NVIDIA and the loss-making AMD have It intends to distribute orders to Samsung, and take advantage of Samsung's momentum to check and balance TSMC. Although TSMC has expressed a tough attitude, judging from the sharp drop in TSMC's performance in the second quarter of this year, TSMC may have quietly agreed to give preferential discounts.
Another reason for TSMC to set up a factory in the United States is to obtain chip subsidies from the United States. However, after TSMC decided to build a factory in the United States, the United States also revealed its cards. 70% of the chip subsidies were given to domestic chip companies such as Intel and Micron. TSMC only got a 10% share, which is even less than Samsung's 13%, which makes TSMC even more frustrated.
3. Evacuation from the United States may be the best choice
As a result, TSMC’s expectation of setting up a factory in the United States has basically failed to meet expectations, and as the influence of American chips on the global market has declined, the recession of American chips has begun, and the revenue that American chips can contribute to TSMC will also gradually decline. Under the circumstances, TSMC's hope of obtaining more orders for American chips has basically failed.
On the other hand, TSMC has also begun to prepare with both hands, building factories in Japan and Europe on a large scale. It hopes to obtain chip orders from these two markets by building factories in these two places, which shows that it has realized that the chip industries in Japan and Europe in the future may be possible. The rise, while the decline of American chips is inevitable.
As a result, TSMC's factories in the United States have become tasteless, and continued investment is likely to cause serious losses. People of insight in Taiwan, China suggest that TSMC should stop losses as soon as possible and abandon the U.S. factories. In fact, TSMC already had the experience of setting up a factory in the United States in the 1990s. At that time, TSMC built a factory in the United States, but it was quickly closed due to losses. Today, the strong man cut his wrist can be said to be a repeat of the last American factory.
However, the United States has set TSMC's American factory as a benchmark. It is not easy for TSMC to withdraw from the United States. After all, American chips are still TSMC's largest customer-contributing 70% of its revenue, and technology and chip equipment need to rely on the United States. , The American factory is like a stick in the throat for TSMC. It is too uncomfortable to swallow or spit it out.