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‘They would not listen to us’: Inside Arizona’s troubled $53bn chip plant
The Guardian ^ | 28 Aug, 2023 | Michael Sainato

Posted on 08/28/2023 6:20:16 PM PDT by anthropocene_x

The Phoenix TSMC plant – the centerpiece of Biden’s $52.7bn US hi-tech manufacturing agenda – is struggling to get online. TSMC has pushed back plans to start manufacturing to 2025, blaming a lack of skilled labor. It is trying to fast-track visas for 500 Taiwanese workers.

Construction of the plant has been hampered by accidents and misunderstandings. A former supervisor at the site blamed delays on disorganization from management and a lack of knowledge by bosses from Taiwan on adhering to safety codes and regulations in the US.

When they started working at the site, all workers went through a safety training program, but out in the field, they never saw the people who ran that program or safety protocols enforced.

“I’ve never been on a job site like this. A job site this big with this many people, you have to be super safe, everything kind of has to slow down because you’re always in somebody’s way, so you have to have a perfect plan if you want to pull this off,” they concluded. “I think they need to get those Taiwan contractors out of there because they are not used to building in America at all. They’re hiring us as professionals to give them a quality installation and advice and direction on how to install things, but they would not listen to us at all.”

Aaron Butler, president of the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council, disputed claims from TSMC that the US workforce lacks the experience and skills required to complete construction.

“Blaming American workers for problems with this project is as offensive to American workers as it is inaccurate,” Butler wrote. “TSMC is blaming its construction delays on American workers and using that as an excuse to bring in foreign workers who they can pay less.”

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: aliens; arizona; biden; china; chips; globalization; h1b; phoenix; taiwan; tsmc
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To: anthropocene_x

They took Fedzilla’s cash. They can train & hire Americans.


21 posted on 08/28/2023 8:16:26 PM PDT by bobcat62
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To: T.B. Yoits
Without computer chips in play, the United States could look the other way if China invaded Taiwan.

That would be a huge mistake on the part of the US. If China controls Taiwan, they control the major sea route in the world. Doesn't matter if the US has a chip plant. If you can't get the raw materials to supply the plant, the plant is useless. The chip issue is a red herring. The main reason China wants Taiwan is to have a permanent "aircraft carrier" in the South China sea.

The Bashi Channel

Ret. Col. John Mills: China’s Seizing Control of Global Trade Canals

22 posted on 08/28/2023 8:17:27 PM PDT by TheCipher ( RINO politicians in DC are the only reptiles in the world with no backbone)
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To: AnotherUnixGeek
Right - so the Taiwanese, who lead the world in chip manufacture, don't know how to get through the endless, useless maze of US bureaucracy and regulation, and this guy is claiming it's a "them" problem. Lame.

SPEAKING as one who was there - getting out from under American industrial regulations of all kinds, (not just OSHA) was a big driver for offshoring manufacturing. When I was implementing high tech process control equipment for GM & Ford, I spent over half my time coping with regulations. It wasn't just that the rules and specs were so unreasonable; but that the people enforcing them were too often so monumentally stupid that I had to train THEM how to do their jobs, or I was mediating turf battles between competing organizations within the corp.

23 posted on 08/28/2023 8:30:32 PM PDT by Chad C. Mulligan
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To: anthropocene_x

Sounds like a typical project where the feral government is involved

Poor plan based on agenda driven wishful thinking

Lack of foresight (i.e.: lack of skilled labor)

Poor execution and control

Over budget and behind schedule

Hidden cost over-runs - money just seems to disappear

Little or no accountability

Awards and bonuses for the incompetent


24 posted on 08/28/2023 9:25:07 PM PDT by Iron Munro (An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes)
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To: anthropocene_x

Taiwanese companies aren’t required to employ unions with 20% diversity hires.


25 posted on 08/28/2023 9:47:58 PM PDT by montag813
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To: anthropocene_x

Chinese line man workers. Hardly any safety equipment.
Scary.

China’s Unbelievable Skilled Power Line Workers Walking In Clouds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEF25O3C9ZE


26 posted on 08/28/2023 9:49:11 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: minnesota_bound

Not all that long ago British workers were not using any safety equipment!

The Pylon Men (1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUowNWSk4uU


27 posted on 08/28/2023 10:03:41 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: anthropocene_x
"Biden signed the Chips and Science Act, which includes $52.7bn in loans, grants and other incentives, and billions more in tax credits for manufacturers to produce the chips in the US, in August 2022.

The Arizona project is the flagship in the president’s efforts to tout the law’s effects and TSMC’s promised $40bn investment in US chip production plant is one of the largest foreign investments in US history and the largest ever in Arizona."



28 posted on 08/28/2023 10:04:43 PM PDT by clearcarbon (Fraudulent elections have consequences.)
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To: T.B. Yoits

You meant the son Whun Doh Bai Din?


29 posted on 08/28/2023 10:25:51 PM PDT by Waverunner
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To: dragnet2
“has to slow down”

yup that is bull#$$t...

It's been my experience that when everyone is safety conscious ... things move along faster.
Nothing like a medical event or accident to bring an entire site to a halt.

30 posted on 08/29/2023 1:06:09 AM PDT by 1of10 (be vigilant , be strong, be safe, be 1 of 10 .)
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To: anthropocene_x

Another Bai Dung plan gone wrong.


31 posted on 08/29/2023 10:35:59 AM PDT by Doc91678 (Doc91678)
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