Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) confirmed that its personnel are safe and facility safety systems are functioning normally following a powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck off the eastern coast of Taiwan late Saturday night.

Demand for green talent in Taiwan has surged to unprecedented levels. The pending implementation of carbon fees, continued growth in the green technology sector, and rising demands for net-zero emissions in global supply chains have created a massive workforce gap. Statistics show that Taiwan’s green workforce shortfall neared 30,000 in 2025, marking a new record high at nearly 300% the level eight years ago. The electronics, IT, and semiconductor industries show the strongest hiring needs. AI skills have also become highly sought after, with employers favoring expertise in software engineering and R&D.

South Korea’s drive to build a domestic artificial intelligence semiconductor industry is hitting a key constraint. Despite gains in power efficiency and pricing, industry executives say the lack of large-scale validation environments is slowing commercial adoption and limiting the ability of local chips to compete beyond pilot deployments.

With panel industry demand remaining weak, display driver IC testing and packaging specialist Chipbond is pursuing a second growth engine and has formally entered the silicon photonics (SiPh) packaging market.