'SAS Texas economic and fiscal impact' report

Austin fab headcount stood at 3,342 last year

Attrition measures taken amid foundry slump

Austin fab workforce expected to rebound this year

Taylor operating costs rose to $2.4 billion last year

2nm mass production preparations underway for year-end launch

An aerial view of Samsung Electronics' new foundry plant in Taylor, Texas. [Getty Images]
An aerial view of Samsung Electronics' new foundry plant in Taylor, Texas. [Getty Images]

The workforce at Samsung Electronics' Austin campus, the company's US foundry hub, has fallen by more than 30 percent as losses in its non-memory business continued to weigh on the existing production site.

In contrast, headcount at the Taylor campus — where Samsung is preparing to produce chips on a 2-nanometer advanced process — edged up slightly. The company is working toward launching the Taylor factory by the end of this year.

According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics recently released a report titled "Samsung Austin Semiconductor's Economic and Fiscal Impact on Texas." The company periodically publishes such reports through external research firms to document the effect its local subsidiary has on the surrounding community.

The report shows the Austin campus employed 3,342 workers last year, down 32 percent from 4,907 in 2024. The payroll shrank accordingly: total compensation at the Austin campus came to $359.26 million last year, a 31 percent drop from $519.66 million in 2024.

Industry analysts attribute the workforce reduction to a prolonged slump in the non-memory chip market. Samsung Electronics' non-memory division, including its foundry business, is estimated to have posted losses exceeding 5 trillion won ($3.74 billion) in 2024. The Austin campus cuts were part of a broader company-wide effort to reduce costs.

The report described the move as deliberate: "Samsung Austin Semiconductor optimized its workforce through natural attrition to improve operational efficiency and ensure long-term sustainability," adding that the approach "contributed to streamlining operations and enhancing overall productivity."

The Austin campus, where Samsung began investing in 1996, has served as the company's US foundry base. It started producing DRAM in 1998 and handled memory chip production before converting to a dedicated foundry facility in 2017. Its primary process today is the 14-nanometer FinFET node.

Some in the industry expect the Austin campus workforce to have rebounded this year, however, as Samsung's US foundry business recovers. Demand for diversification away from TSMC has persisted as the Taiwanese chipmaker faces production bottlenecks.

The Taylor campus, meanwhile, saw its headcount rise modestly over the same period, growing from 1,110 in 2024 to 1,150 last year. Samsung decided in 2021 to invest in a new foundry line in Taylor and broke ground in earnest in 2022.

As construction nears completion, the number of construction workers on site has actually declined — falling 25 percent from 8,868 in 2024 to 6,674 last year.

Operating expenditures at the Taylor campus have risen sharply as the facility moves toward launch. Local operating costs, including payroll, reached $2.4 billion last year, up from $100 million in 2024.

Staff began moving into the Taylor campus office spaces in the second half of last year, marking the start of operational preparations. An equipment-installation ceremony was held in April, and mass production readiness work is ongoing. Samsung is targeting a launch in the second half of this year.

The Taylor campus was built as Samsung's most advanced foundry base, with the company eyeing orders from major technology firms including Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Qualcomm and AMD. It secured a 23 trillion won AI chip order from Tesla in July last year, building out its pipeline of 2-nanometer advanced-process work.

With customer demand growing faster than expected, Samsung is also planning to invest in a second factory at the site. The company intends to break ground by the end of this year, targeting mass production by 2030.


jeongwan@heraldcorp.com