Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the world’s largest advanced computer chip manufacturers, continues finding its efforts to get its Arizona facility up and running to be more difficult than it anticipated. The chip maker’s 5nm wafer fab was supposed to go online in 2024 but has faced numerous setbacks and now isn’t expected to begin production until 2025. The trouble the semiconductor has been facing boils down to a key difference between Taiwan and the U.S.: workplace culture. A New York Times report highlights the continuing struggle.
One big problem is that TSMC has been trying to do things the Taiwanese way, even in the U.S. In Taiwan, TSMC is known for extremely rigorous working conditions, including 12-hour work days that extend into the weekends and calling employees into work in the middle of the night for emergencies. TSMC managers in Taiwan are also known to use harsh treatment and threaten workers with being fired for relatively minor failures.
TSMC quickly learned that such practices won’t work in the U.S. Recent reports indicated that the company’s labor force in Arizona is leaving the new plant over these perceived abuses, and TSMC is struggling to fill those vacancies. TSMC is already heavily dependent on employees brought over from Taiwan, with almost half of its current 2,200 employees in Phoenix coming over as Taiwanese transplants.
It means they can’t just fire you either. Unless they pay the entire severance up front, which can be multiple months of wage.
Also, losing your job has a lot more impact on your life than a company losing one of its workers impacts that business. So it is definitely in the employees favour.
It depends on the job. And you’re not always guaranteed severance.
It’s a lot more impactful for the worker if they’re trapped in a terrible situation making them miserable. Or if they have to go somewhere else
You read like someone that got a rough deal, ended up in a shit company with a fixed term contract and now regrets signing it.
Most contracts have a probation period… where it is effectively at will. After that, you are stuck for the duration, which is what was agreed.
I don’t know what makes the company so miserable, but not going above and beyond, coming in on time and leaving on time usually helps a lot. I’m not saying start slacking off… but not meeting overbearing production quotas… What are they going to do… fire you? Or pull you off the floor for conversations…
It was a job that required traveling, was trying to refuse paying overtime for travel time. Because I was constantly traveling I couldn’t see my friends, family, or partner. Was unpredictable mandatory overtime.
But I already quit months ago.
And yes, I’m sure some of that was illegal on their part. But there wasn’t much I could do.
Wage theft is horrible. I’m sorry you had to experience that. Glad you got out
In which country? And glassdoor!
Czech Republic, and not a big enough company to have a glassdoor
Maybe give them a review there.
I was basically the only employee in Europe, the other employee had his visa revoked because of the companies incompetence they didn’t file his paperwork properly.