Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that another employee has tested positive for COVID-19, but that its operations are normal.
The Hsinchu-based chipmaker said that the employee had developed mild COVID-19 symptoms and was staying in New Taipei City.
The employee had not been in the office for several days, TSMC said, without specifying whether the employee worked at its headquarters at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
More than 10 people who had close contact with the employee were quarantined, or were practicing self-health management, it added.
Since the Central Epidemic Command Center raised the COVID-19 alert to level 3 for the whole nation on Wednesday last week, TSMC has been operating in separate teams and working remotely from home on a rotating basis, while colleagues and vendors with long-term identification badges have not been moving between the company’s Hsinchu, Taichung and Tainan sites, to avoid cross infection, it said.
TSMC shares yesterday rose 0.34 percent to close at NT$585 in Taipei trading, after coming off a low of NT$581.
On Tuesday, the government-sponsored Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (產業情報研究所) said that TSMC accounts for about 70 percent of the global contract production of micro control units (MCUs) used in vehicles.
Integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) largely serve as the major suppliers of automotive chips and under their business model, the IDMs tend to outsource production to contract chipmakers such as TSMC, institute senior industry analyst Cheng Kai-an (鄭凱安) said.
An IDM is a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and sells IC products.
As MCUs require more complicated production processes that lead to higher production costs, outsourcing has become a major strategy for IDMs, Cheng said.
In this environment, TSMC has secured a 60 to 70 percent share in the global MCU outsourcing market and plays a critical role in the global production of automotive chips at a time when major automakers are struggling to launch vehicle models due to a chip shortage, Cheng said.
The institute said that the top five IDMs supplying MCUs for automakers are the Netherlands’ NXP Semiconductors NV, Japan’s Renesas Electronics Corp, Germany’s Infineon Technologies AG, and the US’ Texas Instruments Inc and Microchip Technology Inc.
The five IDMs primarily outsource the production of MCUs that require advanced 28-nanometer to 65-nanometer processes, the institute added.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source