A truck driver was killed in an episode at TSMC’s semiconductor plant in Arizona

The driver of a waste disposal truck died Wednesday from injuries sustained at the Phoenix campus of the Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing giant, police said. The site is under construction.

The truck driver, identified by the Phoenix Police Department as Cesar Anguiano-Guitron, 41, was a contractor. No TSMC employees or construction workers were injured, according to an earlier company statement.

According to Phoenix police, Mr. Anguiano-Guitron was hauling waste away from the construction site in his tractor-trailer when the incident occurred. While he was checking some equipment, the pressure suddenly relieved, and Mr. Anguiano-Guitron was struck by a blunt object and thrown more than 20 feet from the trailer, police said.

TSMC, which makes the majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors, has been building its campus in Arizona since 2021. Last month, the Biden administration awarded the company a $6.6 billion grant under the Chips and Science Act in an effort to bring cutting-edge chips. Made to USA.

TSMC has long controlled the global chip supply chain from its home base in Taiwan. Fueled by a shortage of chips and China’s increasingly hostile stance toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, world leaders have spent billions to entice the company to expand to their shores. Over the past four years, TSMC has committed to building new factories in Japan, Germany and Arizona.

The company said its site on the northern outskirts of Phoenix will eventually include three factories. But work has been repeatedly delayed as construction unions in Arizona raised safety concerns and objected to TSMC bringing in workers from Taiwan to help install sophisticated equipment. The first plant is now expected to begin producing chips in 2025, and the second in 2028. Federal officials said they expect TSMC’s planned site in Arizona will create 6,000 chip manufacturing jobs and more than 20,000 construction jobs.

Semiconductor manufacturing is complex and involves specialized chemicals and materials. TSMC said in a statement to media in Taiwan that Mr. Anguiano-Guitron was driving a tanker truck containing sulfuric acid.

Arizona has become the top destination for chip-related spending. More than $100 billion in new investments in semiconductors have been announced since the introduction of the CHIPS Act, According to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

After TSMC It revealed its plans to build an American center in 2020Several Taiwanese companies that supply the chemicals have said they will follow suit. Some even bought land. But they backed off while progress at the plant slowed.

Amy Chang Shen Contributed to research.