TSMC evacuates production lines after major Taiwan quake

TAIWAN Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) evacuated factory areas after a major earthquake rocked its home island on Wednesday (Apr 3), endangering production at the world’s largest maker of advanced chips.

The chipmaker to Apple and Nvidia moved staff out of certain areas, spokesperson Nina Kao said in a text message, without elaborating. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker is still assessing the impact of a temblor measuring 7.4 in magnitude off the east coast, which triggered tsunami warnings.

Taiwanese firms from TSMC to rival United Microelectronics and ASE Technology Holding make the vast majority of the semiconductors that go into devices from iPhones to cars from factories vulnerable to tremors. A single vibration can destroy entire batches of the precision-made semiconductors.

Taiwan is prone to quakes because it is near the convergence of two tectonic plates. Yet it is also the source of most high-end chips, required for advanced applications such as artificial intelligence. BLOOMBERG