TSMC says skilled worker shortage delays start of Arizona chip production. TSMC says it needs skilled workers to meet demand for chips.

TSMC TSM reported a fall in secondquarter net profit its first yearonyear drop in quarterly profit since as global economic woes take a toll on demand for chips used in everything from cars to cellphones. Despite facing macroeconomic headwinds TSMCs longterm outlook remains robust supported by mega trends like G and highperformance computing. As TSMC steps up its global expansion the company said production at its first plant in Arizona will be delayed until due to a shortage of specialist workers. The company said its position as the largest manufacturer of artificial intelligence chips and high demand for AI have not offset broader endmarket weakness as the global economy recovers more slowly than it had expected. Still the companys earnings of . billion Taiwan dollars . billion for the quarter ending in June beat forecasts. We see TSMC wellpositioned for a strong growth outlook in Goldman Sachs said in a research note. The shortterm frenzy about the AI demand definitely cannot extrapolate for the long term. Neither can we predict the near future meaning next year how the sudden demand will continue or flatten out. We expect the production schedule of N process technology to be pushed out to TSMC chairman Mark Liu said Thursday. Other analysts too were upbeat on TSMC thanks in part to strong demand forAI which currently accounts for around of the companies revenue. We believe the US expansion delay is also wellexpected by investors. We expect a solid onward outlook on the back of its leading position in AI chip manufacturing Citi Research analysts say in a note. The company’s total investment in the US project amounts to $1.5 billion. It is also sending experienced technicians from Taiwan to train the local skilled workers for a short period of time. The production schedule for the N processTechnology will be pushed back to the end of next year. It will be the first time in the company’s history that it has delayed the start of production in the U.S. by more than a year. The delay is due to the lack of skilled workers in the state. The U.K. is the only other country where TSMC is planning to build its first US plant. It has invested $1 billion in the project so far and plans to build a second plant in the future. The first plant is expected to be completed in 2018. The second plant will be built in 2020 and will be located in the Phoenix, Arizona area. The third plant is planned to be in the San Diego, California area in the next few years. The fourth plant is scheduled to be opened in 2022 in the Silicon Valley area of California. The fifth plant will open in the Mojave Desert in California in the year after the first plant was completed in 2012. The final plant will go into operation in 2023 in the Santa Clara area of the California desert in the southern part of the United States. The last plant is set to open in 2020 in Silicon Valley in the central California region. The plants are due to be operational in the late 2020s and early 2030s.