A worker was killed in a construction accident at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC)'s advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging plant in Chiayi County on Monday, May 26, local time, the company confirmed.

The incident occurred around 10:20 a.m., when a transformer box being hoisted at the construction site fell and struck a worker below. The victim, who was serving as a crane signal coordinator, suffered severe injuries and showed no signs of life at the scene. He was taken by ambulance to Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.

TSMC stated that the site is currently under a contractor's responsibility and that all related construction work has been voluntarily suspended to allow for a full investigation. The company said it is cooperating fully with authorities and will assist the contractor in handling the aftermath of the accident.

Taiwan's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the Ministry of Labor confirmed it received a report around noon on May 26. Preliminary findings indicated that the transformer box fell after the forklift transporting it passed over uneven ground, leading to the fatal impact.

Authorities have verbally ordered the suspension of construction work at the site and will conduct an on-site inspection by May 27 at the latest.

The Chiayi facility is TSMC's first of two planned CoWoS advanced packaging plants in the region. Construction began in May 2023 but was temporarily halted in June due to the discovery of suspected historical remains. Work resumed later that year and is currently progressing rapidly. The first plant spans approximately 12 hectares and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with mass production targeted for 2028. The facility is projected to create about 3,000 jobs.