Phoenix highlights TSMC investment, apprenticeship and bioscience growth to expand local workforce
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Summary
Mayor Kate Gallego and Vice Mayor Anne O’Brien emphasized semiconductor and bioscience investments, including TSMC, a city-sponsored semiconductor apprenticeship program and plans for Innovation 27 as parts of a push to diversify Phoenix’s economy and create higher-wage jobs.
Mayor Kate Gallego said Phoenix has shifted its economy to attract advanced manufacturing and bioscience jobs, citing the city’s recruitment of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as a cornerstone of that strategy.
"Today the world's state of the art semiconductors are manufactured right here in our city," Mayor Kate Gallego said, describing what she called a major foreign direct investment and stating that the original $12,000,000,000 investment had grown to $165,000,000,000.
Gallego said the city has worked to make the local workforce ready for semiconductor manufacturing, noting that Phoenix became the first city in the nation to officially sponsor a registered apprenticeship program in the semiconductor industry. She said the program offers paid on-the-job training hours and tuition support so residents can earn journeyman credentials.
Why it matters: City leaders framed the strategy as a way to reduce Phoenix’s historical dependence on real estate and to create career pathways that lift families into the middle class. Officials tied the semiconductor work to broader workforce and innovation goals, including a new facility they call Innovation 27.
Details and supporting facts: Gallego gave figures she said characterize recent growth in the local economy: from 2018 to 2023, she said job growth in the Phoenix metro rose 14 percent and wage growth more than 47 percent. She also described a bioscience sector she said has attracted $4,000,000,000 in capital investment, 6,000,000 square feet of new primary facilities and about 10,000 new jobs since she took office.
Vice Mayor Anne O’Brien expanded on large-scale development tied to semiconductor growth, citing a project she named Halo Vista. O’Brien described Halo Vista as a roughly $7,000,000,000 project on more than 2,000 acres that she said would include about 30,000,000 square feet of commercial space and thousands of residential units to support semiconductor facilities and their workforce.
City partnerships: Gallego and O’Brien said the city is working with educational institutions — named in remarks as Arizona State University, Maricopa County Community Colleges and other partners — to expand training programs. Gallego specifically credited expansion of city-sponsored apprenticeships and workforce training tied to semiconductor manufacturing.
Context and limits: The speeches reported planned and ongoing initiatives but did not present new council ordinances or recorded votes during the ceremony. The investment figures, project descriptions and program claims were presented by elected officials during their inaugural remarks.
Looking ahead: Mayor Gallego framed these efforts as long-term economic transformation designed to create higher-paying jobs and broaden the city’s economic base.