• 2024. However, the company later pushed these dates back to 2025 and then to 2026.
• Thankfully, Samsung has no further intention to push the timeline, though there have been rumors suggesting otherwise.
Production Challenges at Taylor Plant
• According to the Korean outlet The Elec, Samsung has said that the 2026 mass production schedule remains unchanged.
• The report adds that all the partner company employees who were helping run the factory have left.
• This makes the production operation at its new Taylor semiconductor plant complicated.
• Samsung’s own staff has reduced by 25% of the initial staff.
• On top of that, order intake for the fab has also been slow, which is causing delays.
Government Subsidies and Implications
• It is worth noting that these challenges are unrelated to whether the US government is providing subsidies.
• However, further delaying the production schedule might affect Samsung’s agreement with the US government, which involves billions of dollars in CHIPS and Science Act subsidies.
• Samsung needs to get its Taylor plant up and ready fast
US Tariffs and Semiconductor Investigations
• While consumer electronics like smartphones are exempt from US tariffs, semiconductors and other chip-related materials are not.
• On top of that, the US government has opened an investigation into the imports of semiconductors and other electronic products before the full implementation of tariffs.
• It’s a very extensive investigation that covers many parts, such as silicon wafers, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and other products containing semiconductors.
Samsung's Response and Production Delays
• The semiconductor plant in Taylor could help Samsung to mitigate the impact of US tariffs on imported chips, as chips manufactured in the US would not be subject to import tariffs.
• However, due to weak customer orders, Samsung has delayed its plan for the production of chips to 2026.
• It remains to be seen if the company can stick to that plan or if it will push back production by another year.
