Employees safe, Kumamoto fab structure unaffected by earthquake: TSMC

Taipei, July 29 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Tuesday night that its employees were safe and the structure of its plant in Kumamoto, Japan, was intact after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the area earlier in the day.

In a statement, the world's largest contract chipmaker said an inspection confirmed that the fab, run by the TSMC-led joint venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. (JASM), remained unscathed and that operations were gradually being restored.

TSMC said JASM would carry out further examinations of its complex to assess the impact of the earthquake, but it did not say when it expected the fab to be fully back to normal.

The earthquake struck Kumamoto at 4:27 p.m. local time Tuesday and registered a maximum intensity of 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, according to Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK).

Right after the temblor, JASM evacuated its employees based on its evacuation criteria, according to TSMC, and it said all personnel inside the facility were evacuated and accounted for.

TSMC's first fab in Kumamoto started commercial operations at the end of 2024, using specialty processes. Construction of a second fab began last year with mass production slated for 2028, using the advanced 3-nanometer process.

TSMC said the construction site of the second fab was not affected by the earthquake but some work remained suspended out of safety considerations because of possible aftershocks.

In a separate statement, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said other Taiwanese companies operating in Kumamoto were not hurt by the earthquake.

The other companies included industrial computer brand Advantech Co., power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc., Ucan Ltd., another power management device maker, and the Kumamoto branch of CTBC's subsidiary Tokyo Star Bank, according to the MOEA.