Recently, the newly constructed CoWoS advanced packaging and testing plant in TSMC’s Chiayi Science Park has seen a series of frequent safety accidents, drawing widespread attention. On July 20, the plant experienced another accident where a 50-ton-capacity trailer overturned. Although no casualties were reported, this marked the fourth major safety accident in the plant area within just two months. The previous three accidents were as follows: On May 20, a worker fell from a scaffolding on the fourth floor, resulting in paralysis; on May 26, during the equipment-moving operation, a 2-ton transformer slid sideways due to an unstable center of gravity and crushed the crane-hoisting signalman, who later died from severe injuries; on July 16, while installing the mechanical and electrical ice-water piping, a pipe weighing about 380 kilograms fell and struck a female worker, who died after unsuccessful emergency treatment in the hospital.

Given the frequency of these accidents, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Ministry of Labor has taken the matter very seriously and has ordered a complete shutdown of the mechanical and electrical engineering works at TSMC's Chiayi Science Park CoWoS plant, with no set date for resumption. The Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration stated that the labor inspection authority for the Chiayi Science Park still belongs to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Ministry of Labor. Since the administration has not yet been authorized, it can only offer support and express concern from the sidelines, hoping for safe and smooth construction in the future.

TSMC's CoWoS packaging capacity has long been in short supply. In 2024, the monthly capacity was only 40,000 pieces, far below the surging demand for AI chips. The delay of the Chiayi plant is likely to exacerbate this contradiction. Following the accidents, the P1 plant project has been completely suspended, and the original plan to complete the construction and installation in the third quarter of 2025 is now at risk of being postponed. TSMC responded that it prioritizes safety and will not rush to resume work just to meet deadlines. However, the successive accidents have also drawn attention from the outside world to the construction safety management of TSMC's plant sites. How to strengthen safety defenses while accelerating the construction of advanced packaging capacity has become an urgent issue to be addressed.

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