Four Workers Killed in Fall at TSMC 2nm Fab Construction Site in Kaohsiung

Accident Details and Immediate Response

Four contract workers were killed in an accident at the construction site for TSMC's 2nm Fab 22 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. According to Taiwan's Central News Agency and the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) Bureau, a broken bolt on a steel connection plate caused workers and steel components to fall. The workers were performing steel-structure hoisting and installation on an upper floor when the connection-plate bolt apparently failed. Emergency services dispatched 10 vehicles with 22 personnel to the site. Three workers died despite resuscitation efforts, and the fourth was moved to intensive care before later succumbing to injuries.

TSMC has suspended all steel structure work at the Fab 22 site and at all of its new plants in Taiwan while authorities investigate. The STSP has sent labor inspectors to examine the accident. Local police reported the men were welding a steel beam when they fell with it. The workers were employed by a contractor responsible for the fourth phase of the complex's construction, and TSMC confirmed the area was within that contractor's scope of work.

Pattern of Construction Fatalities

This incident marks at least the ninth construction death at TSMC sites in Taiwan since 2024. Previous accidents, each killing one worker, occurred since September 2024. The frequency has drawn attention to safety practices amid TSMC's aggressive expansion. Business Today reports TSMC fab construction has accelerated from four fabs per year in 2017-2024 to nine per year in 2025 and 2026. The company plans 13 new leading-edge and advanced-packaging fabs in Taiwan with capital expenditure of $60 billion to $64 billion this year.

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei stated at last year's shareholders meeting that safety cannot be compromised. The company's 2025 annual report emphasizes continued investment in fabs across Taiwan with a strong focus on construction site safety. TSMC has added a contractor's safety record as a weighting factor in selection and plans to form a Taiwan Semiconductor Construction Engineering Safety Association with construction partners.

Fab 22 Project and Industry Context

The Fab 22 complex, located in Kaohsiung's Nanzi District within the Southern Taiwan Science Park, is being built to accelerate 2nm manufacturing. TSMC entered high-volume 2nm (N2) production in the fourth quarter of 2025, including at Fab 22. The complex has five planned phases with a total investment exceeding NT$1.5 trillion (approximately $46 billion). Phase 4 construction began in August 2025, with operations expected in the fourth quarter of 2027.

TSMC senior vice president and deputy co-COO Cliff Hou noted that increased worker count and overlapping construction have raised risk levels, requiring careful supervision. He reported the contractor lost-time injury rate had fallen about 42 percent from last year's high as of late May. The accident occurred less than a week after an explosion killed two people at Intel's chip plant in Israel, though that incident involved an operating fab rather than a construction site. Both accidents come as global chip sales surpassed $1 trillion through August, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

Investigation and Potential Impact

The STSP's findings will determine any penalties under Taiwan's Occupational Safety and Health Act. The bureau is also assisting the victims' families. No date has been set for the restart of Phase 4 steel hoisting, and TSMC has not commented on potential schedule impacts. The accident occurred on the construction side, not in a producing fab, but it raises questions about the pace of TSMC's expansion and contractor oversight as the company races to meet surging demand for advanced semiconductors.

Sources: Tom's Hardware