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The Intel AZ fab in Chandler typically has the best yields out of all Intel fabs. TSMC likely thought they were tapping into that labor market when building in
by jmpman 2y ago
The Intel AZ fab in Chandler typically has the best yields out of all Intel fabs. TSMC likely thought they were tapping into that labor market when building in Phoenix. However they built on the other side of the metropolitan area. It’s an hour drive from the Chandler Intel facility to TSMC without traffic. With traffic, it’s an hour and a half. Any established Intel engineer isn’t going to give up their 30min daily commute for a 3 hour round trip commute.
I’ve also heard that the electrical unions will only work 9-5, M-F, and demand a 3 day lead time. Intel has just learned to incorporate that into their planning, while TSMC attempted to bypass the union. Expect TSMC is either adapting, or the AZ politicians have interceded with the unions.
- AlotOfReading 2y agoI suspect they realized how long the drive was. Siting a fab is difficult and subject to a lot of constraints. The first and most important constraint is having land to actually build anything. Intel is built right up against the tribal boundaries. The west parking lot is actually on tribal land. The TSMC campus would have required bulldozing an entire block to fit in city limits. Notice how the location chosen is along one of the few borders not constrained by tribal boundaries? Intel also has a special deal with Chandler to get SRP water. Both Chandler and SRP as a whole probably couldn't afford the same for TSMC. They currently have a complicated deal with Phoenix to take that water from CAP, Groundwater, and the non-SRP allocation Phoenix gets. The difference is supposed to be made up with reclamation.