Global Semiconductor Construction Resource Requirements
Growth in the Semiconductor Construction Industry will Generate Over 70,000 Design, Engineering, and Construction Jobs in 2023.
The global semiconductor manufacturing industry has been expanding year-on-year to meet the demands of the ever-growing consumer requirements. The result of this continued demand is the increased growth of construction projects.
Since the US Chips Act was passed, I’ve been following the media coverage of how companies like Intel, TSMC, Samsung, Texas Instruments, Micron, and Global foundries in the US are ramping-up to meet these consumer demands. I have also noticed that other semiconductor manufacturers such as Wolfspeed, SUNY, Nanya, SMIC, ST Micro, NXP, Infineon, Nexperia, and many others have joined in this resurgence too.
Fabs in construction and planning.
A recent study shows there are currently over 291* operating fabs globally, with 58 of these fabs either expanding their existing footprint or building new facilities and a further 11 megafabs in the planning stage. While each is significant, the combined impact on the global semiconductor construction workforce is worth looking at.
Intel
Intel has seven locations starting or ramping up construction in 2023. Projects in Ireland, Israel, Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, Malaysia, Germany, and Italy. With a combination of new builds and retrofits, Intel’s total global resourcing will be approximately 30,000 to 35,000 construction jobs [1].
TSMC
TSMC currently employs approx. 5,000 construction workers in Arizona. A potential extension to the site coupled with a potential doubling of capacity could easily increase that number to 10,000[2]. TSMC has also announced that they are reviewing sites in Europe to build a megafab.
Samsung
Samsung’s announcement of its new plants in Texas, with a projected 11 more fabs, requires approx. 11,000 new construction roles [3]. With capital from the Chips Act, Samsung expects to establish a 20-year construction roadmap in this region.
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments’ new facilities in Texas are projected to require 7,000 construction workers to complete their builds [4]. TI has recently opened a facility in Richardson, TX, and has transitioned directly into a second build.
Micron
Micron’s new project in Idaho will require approximately 5,000 construction resources, but Micron’s new $100B investment in Clay County, New York, will see the establishment of a new semiconductor hub leading to over 10,000 design and construction roles.
Global Foundries
Finally, for this review, Global Foundries have communicated two new projects. An expansion in their existing facility in Malta, New York, requiring approximately 2,500 workers, and the expansion of the facility in Dresden, Germany, will require a similar number to support the expansion [4].
Design, engineering, and construction
The combined design, engineering, and construction roles projected from all announced projects will exceed 75,000. This would almost equate to 50% of all construction workers in Ireland.
The type of roles that will be required to support these types of projects are very varied and include facilities systems engineers, process and facilities designers, BIM specialists, project managers, site safety professionals, construction managers and coordinators, planners and schedulers, quality assurance professionals, specialist contractors and many more.
These resources will need to be provided by many organisations, states, and even countries, so this should be an achievable number; the challenge will be for the clients and companies that require these resources to come together earlier than usual and plan for success.
DPS Group is currently supporting a number of these major construction projects; therefore, future blog posts will take a deeper dive into specific, new, and interesting projects from around the globe. The number of projects and the required resources is still growing as new projects are being announced. It will be very interesting to watch how these projects progress over the next 12 months and how many more will come to fruition.
References:
[1]https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/resources/intel-invests-ohio.html#gs.bokr9b
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/news/eu-news-2022-release.html#gs.bonscd
https://www.ft.com/content/a369987e-1113-45ed-98b1-3dbf01f457ec
[3] https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2022/07/27/workers-needed-samsung-taylor-texas-plant.html
[4] Estimate based on approx. size of proposed fabs compared to Intel Ohio.
*Some organisations may have multiple fabs on the same site. Each fab is counted separately.
