Taiwan’s coronavirus outbreak, drought and power cuts force semiconductor makers to ramp up contingency plans
- The island’s chip makers are grappling with surging coronavirus infections, a drought and erratic power supply
- The combination of risks threatens to knock back productivity in Taiwan’s US$10.3 billion semiconductor industry
Standing outside Nanya Technology’s vast manufacturing complex in Taiwan, it could be mistaken for Lunar New Year, when workers leave en masse.
On a recent Friday, just a trickle of light delivery trucks stopped by the complex’s Art Deco-style reception area west of Taipei, and employees exited the 10-storey administration building alone or in pairs for lunch at a canteen across the street.
But inside the hulking factory walls at Nanya, the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory for consumer electronics, operations are chugging along near normal – albeit with a few added precautions.
Some workers have been sent home and factory staff are only allowed to gather in groups of three. Behind a tall glass window near the reception, employees wearing protective eye goggles and face masks could be seen sitting in front of big-screen PC keyboards two chairs apart.
Yellow Xs were taped across upholstered blue benches in the lobby to prevent people from sitting too close to one another.
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