TSMC reportedly pauses production after strong earthquake hits Taiwan
According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration Seismological Center, a 6.4-magnitude tremblor shook things up at seventeen minutes past midnight on January 21st (4:17PM UTC). A quake of that strength can cause significant local damage in built-up areas.
This one was centered in a mountainous region of Taiwan and reportedly caused 27 injuries and minor damage such as glass bottles breaking after being shaken off supermarket shelves.
But it was still felt around 40km away in the city of Tainan, and 200km away in the city of Taichung. The Register mentions them as both house TSMC fabrication plants and, according to local media reports, the chipmaker was sufficiently worried about worker safety that staff were told to cease work and leave the building.
TSMC is now apparently checking for any damage. Chipmaking equipment is extremely precise, so it’s possible an earthquake created small changes that could introduce errors that reduce the yield of usable chips. Recalibration could therefore be required before full-scale production can resume.
