The company will no longer manufacture chips after the Oregon plant is offloaded. It will become a pure chip designer.

Earlier this year, the chairman of TSMC, Morris Chang, predicted over 20 chip factories will be shut due to the global recession and as companies outsource production instead of upgrading old factories. Upgrading old factories can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and new state-of-the-art 12-inch chip factories cost around US$4 billion, depending on the size and technology inside.