Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) halted chipmaking operations and evacuated plants after a powerful earthquake struck Taiwan, the strongest in 25 years, Bloomberg reports.
TSMC, a key chipmaker for Apple and Nvidia, relocated staff and is assessing the impact of the 7.4 magnitude quake. Smaller rival United Microelectronics Corp. also stopped machinery and evacuated facilities. Earthquakes pose risks to the delicate production process of high-end chips, which require uninterrupted vacuum-sealed environments for weeks. The disruption raises concerns about potential impacts on the global tech supply chain, with TSMC shares falling 1.3%.
Taiwanese firms dominate semiconductor production, producing 80% to 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, raising concerns about the concentration of semiconductor production in a region prone to quakes and geopolitical tensions. Efforts to diversify production geographically are underway with expansion projects in Japan and the US, but they will take time to reach full capacity.
