TSMC says four workers killed at Kaohsiung site; halts steel-structure work

Four construction workers have died after a steel-structure collapse at TSMC’s Fab 22 construction site in Kaohsiung’s Nanzih District, and steel-structure work has been suspended at all of the chipmaker’s construction sites across Taiwan pending investigation.

“We and our construction contractor immediately suspended related construction work at the site, and we have also suspended similar steel structure work at all our construction sites across Taiwan pending our investigation,” TSMC said in an emailed statement, adding that its on-site safety team is cooperating with the authorities and the contractor.

The Fire Department received a report at 4:53pm on Tuesday that four people had been injured at the Fab 22 site in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, the Taipei Times reported. Three were pronounced dead that night; the fourth, surnamed Huang, died in intensive care on Wednesday morning. Preliminary findings suggest bolts on a connecting plate of an outer steel structure on the third floor snapped, sending the workers and steel components plunging down.

The bureau said the four men were employed by contractor Shang Hao Machinery Co., and work will resume only after an improvement plan passes review, Focus Taiwan reported. Labour inspectors are investigating the cause and will determine liability. Fab 22 is scheduled to make 2-nanometre and more advanced chips.

TSMC is the world’s largest contract chip maker and a major supplier of the advanced chips powering the artificial intelligence boom.

Sources: Reuters; Taipei Times; Focus Taiwan (CNA); Free Malaysia Today. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tsmc-says-four-construction-workers-killed-taiwan-site-halting-work-2026-10-21/ https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2026/10/21/2003866366 https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202610210009 https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/10/21/tsmc-says-4-construction-workers-killed-at-taiwan-site-halting-work