The World's Relentless Demand for Chips Turns Deadly in Malaysia (bloomberg.com) 30
Before this year, no one worried too much about the global supply chain, beyond specialists in the field. The role of developing nations like Malaysia or the Philippines warranted little attention. From a report: But the coronavirus outbreak has been a wake-up call for chief executives, prime ministers and consumers around the world, as shortages disrupted production of everything from iPhones and F-150 pickups to Nike sneakers. The tragedy in Muar shows the little-understood human cost of keeping supply chains running in a pandemic. While politicians in Washington and Paris urge suppliers to step up production of semiconductors and government officials in countries like Malaysia give special exemptions to powerful corporations, employees like Hani put their lives at risk.
The duty of the government is to look after the workers' interest more than the country's or the companies' interest," said Zaid Ibrahim, a former law minister in Malaysia. "Of the three -- the government, companies and workers -- the most vulnerable are the workers. I wish we could have avoided these tragedies." Malaysia is a case study in the conflict between people and profit. The government spent decades attracting foreign investment and diversifying its economy beyond rubber and tin. The country now accounts for 13% of the world's chip testing and packaging, a key step in producing the semiconductors that go into automobiles, smartphones and other devices. Some 575,000 people were employed in the electrical and electronics industry in 2020, working with global chipmakers such as STMicro, Infineon Technologies AG, Intel Corp. and Renesas Electronics.
The duty of the government is to look after the workers' interest more than the country's or the companies' interest," said Zaid Ibrahim, a former law minister in Malaysia. "Of the three -- the government, companies and workers -- the most vulnerable are the workers. I wish we could have avoided these tragedies." Malaysia is a case study in the conflict between people and profit. The government spent decades attracting foreign investment and diversifying its economy beyond rubber and tin. The country now accounts for 13% of the world's chip testing and packaging, a key step in producing the semiconductors that go into automobiles, smartphones and other devices. Some 575,000 people were employed in the electrical and electronics industry in 2020, working with global chipmakers such as STMicro, Infineon Technologies AG, Intel Corp. and Renesas Electronics.
Did something happen? (Score:2)
Re:Did something happen? (Score:4, Informative)
Running it through an archive service usually works. Here: https://archive.md/pNI4a [archive.md]
Turns deadly HOW? (Score:5, Informative)
There's basically no explanation for the headline in the summary. And as someone else has noted, the link is paywalled. We see stuff about "special corporate exemptions" but nothing about what actually is supposed to be killing people in Malaysia in regards to chip demand.
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Re: Turns deadly HOW? (Score:2)
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Re: Turns deadly HOW? (Score:2)
I think they mean factory workers can catch covid. But that is true for almost any product, so I am not sure what they are getting at. Either way, the only solution seems to be robotics and automation coupled with robo-taxes that fund Universal Basic Income.
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Either way, the only solution seems to be robotics and automation coupled with robo-taxes that fund Universal Basic Income.
Or at a shorter scale, drop patents royalties on vaccines, so that worker in Malaysia can afford it and reduce their risks
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Either way, the only solution seems to be robotics and automation coupled with robo-taxes that fund Universal Basic Income.
Or at a shorter scale, drop patents royalties on vaccines, so that worker in Malaysia can afford it and reduce their risks
Or at a shorter-shorter scale, dropping manufacturing royalties means the first company to market has to set starting prices very high and focus on 1st-world affluent consumers, because a few weeks/months later several competitors can bring a much cheaper knock-off product to the market and the original company won't be able to make money.
So at the shorter-shorter-shorter scale, R&D + manufacturing costs mean copyable medicine production becomes a dead end and nobody bothers to do it.
What relentless demand? What tragedy? (Score:5, Informative)
This is a new low, even for Slashdot.
TFS provides no useful summary of what the title is referring to, and then only a paywalled link. This is what Slashdot loves to refer to as "Crap journalism", FFS.
Wow. Just... wow. Most useless editors ever right now I think.
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I've noticed that when it says "from the closer-look dept.", it's almost like the editor wants to distance themselves from the article... I've also noticed that's most of them.
Excuse me msmash (Score:2)
Re: Excuse me msmash (Score:1)
You're supposed to feel the feels, bro.
If you don't...well back in the old country they'd pry an axe out of the last guy's cold dead hands and give it to you so you could start your exciting new career as a Siberian lumberjack.
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I Wonder (Score:1)
If Slashdot is using an AI editor running on US East.
Was in the process of doing it's job of editing when US East went...
One guy died? (Score:2)
I clicked through and it cuts off after the second paragraph talking about a guy who got COVID-19 and I'm assuming the guy died.
I have no idea if more people died or how many. Kinda seems like a non-story.
Clean rooms spread covid? (Score:2)
It was my understanding that chips are inspected and packaged in "clean room" environments, to prevent contamination. It would seem that such clean environments would be good protection against communicable diseases.
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It would seem that such clean environments would be good protection against communicable diseases.
They protect the chips not the chumps. You think they get a new suit or first shifts left over sweaty one? Those things cost money to clean and replace. Hell I've worn uniforms and company's definitely will shove your ass in a used one if they can.
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When I worked in a semi fab in the 90s we all had individual bunny suits with hoods etc. We only changed them if they got damaged etc and wore them over regular clothes.
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It varies from fab to fab. Some make employees use communal suits, some only make contractors do that. Some make you strip down to your underwear and put on special pajama pants before putting the suit on.
In any case, it's probably not the cleanroom where the transmission occurs but the cafeteria with hundreds or even thousands of workers all taking their scheduled break at the same time.
Archived copy (Score:3)
For all the complainers. https://archive.md/pNI4a [archive.md]
Summary (Score:4, Informative)
They didn't lock down the facility when covid hit, and there was an outbreak in the workers. At least 20 died. So toss them in with nearly every meat packing facility in North America, and (I'm pretty sure) many thousands of other manufacturing facilities around the world.
I don't know why it makes a difference that it's a chip factory.
No different from a Mcdonalds worker (Score:2)
Is it even possible? (Score:2)
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Yet ANOTHER terrible headline with a paywall (Score:3)
For the love of god can the clowns who now edit this site stop posting paywall articles with poor headlines.
Seriously - a high school newsletter would be better than this.
Not paywalled for me (Score:1)
The story is about a chief technician at ST in Malaysia who got sick together with 19 coworkers and died.
I'm really baffled how that could happen. What is a chief technician at a semiconductor factory doing? When does he get into contact with coworkers? Getting infected anywhere where bare silicon is handled, should be impossible. And the testing and packaging done when the silicon is sealed into a package should not be done by a chief technician. Is that even done by hand? My guess is that he got the virus