"U.S. Semiconductor Factories to Face Shortage of 160,000 Workers by 2030"

There are projections that by 2030, there could be a shortage of 160,000 skilled semiconductor workers. If this labor shortage is not resolved, it is expected that new semiconductor investments and factory construction projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars may be delayed, and disruptions in production could occur.

Pixabay

McKinsey & Company, the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) forecasted on July 7 (local time), based on employer surveys, that the skilled labor shortage in the U.S. semiconductor industry could reach up to 157,000 people by 2030. While support programs under the CHIPS and Science Act have increased the number of on-site technical workers for new factories, McKinsey and others analyzed that this is far from sufficient to resolve the shortage of manufacturing and hardware engineers.

Already, about three out of four semiconductor companies are experiencing significant challenges in recruiting engineers. The fundamental issue is that only about 3% of U.S. engineering students are entering the semiconductor industry. The majority are choosing higher-paying software-related fields such as artificial intelligence (AI). As the influx of new technical talent into the semiconductor sector is delayed, it is expected to place a burden on various semiconductor investment projects. Currently, TSMC is pursuing the construction and investment of semiconductor and packaging facilities in Arizona, with a maximum value of $265 billion. Micron is investing $100 billion in memory production in New York, Samsung Electronics is investing in a logic semiconductor plant in Texas, and Intel is proceeding with a $28 billion semiconductor-related investment in Ohio.

The report warned that the worsening labor shortage could even undermine the effects of subsidies for domestic production expansion under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. It emphasized the need for continuous government support and the expansion of semiconductor education programs to address this issue. Taylor Roundtree, a partner at McKinsey, stated, "The talent pool is not sufficient to meet the industry's workforce needs as a whole," and added, "Given the sheer scale of the potential labor shortage, there is a growing recognition that the industry must work together to solve this problem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.