Mayor Gallego Celebrates TSMC’s Fab 3 at Topping Out Ceremony

PHOENIX – Today, Mayor Kate Gallego and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Arizona executives participated in the “Topping Out Ceremony” for the third semiconductor manufacturing facility known as ‘Fab 3’. This fab will run the highly advanced 2 nanometer process technology.

The “Topping Out Ceremony” marks the final and highest beam’s installation for a new building. Noting the incredible speed in which TSMC went from groundbreaking to installing this symbolic beam, Gallego celebrated with construction workers and the TSMC Arizona team.

“Union workers and skilled trades are the backbone of this success, and they’ve built every inch of these fabs with remarkable precision and craftsmanship,” Gallego said. “Fab 3 will produce some of the most complex technology on earth, and this is an exciting day for everyone who made today possible.”

Joined by TSMC Arizona Chief Executive Officer Ray Chuang and President Rose Castanares, Gallego also noted that May marks six years since TSMC’s $12 billion announcement that it was expanding into Phoenix. Since that time, Phoenix has become one of only two places on earth where the world’s most advanced chips are made. TSMC has further expanded its trust in Phoenix by upping its investment to $165 billion, ensuring its place as the largest foreign-direct investment in American history.

“There is an incredible symmetry at TSMC Arizona. It is one of the world’s largest construction sites being built with the purpose to make some of the world’s smallest technology,” Gallego added.

Since the initial $12 billion investment for one semiconductor fabrication facility, then to $40 billion and two fabs, and then $65 billion and three fabs, TSMC has consistently and steadily increased its investment into Phoenix to $165 billion. This translates to six fabs, two advanced packaging facilities, and an R&D center. Just last month, TSMCannounced that initial construction had started on the fourth fab and the first advanced packaging plant which is a key supply chain cog.

Today, TSMC employs more than 3,500 full time employees. By the time Fab 3 is operational, more than 6,000 high-tech, high-wage jobs will have been created. The Greater Phoenix Economic Council reports that the first three fabs will create more than 18,000 indirect supplier and consumer jobs. Additionally, more than 20,000 construction jobs were created to build the first three fabs, with thousands more expected in the years ahead as TSMC continues to build more facilities.