TSMC plans to send additional employees from its home country to its factory in Arizona, USA, where about 1,100 Taiwanese staff are already dispatched. With a larger than expected number of Taiwanese personnel being deployed, there are rising complaints from labor unions in Arizona, and concerns are being raised that conflicts between Taiwanese employees and local American workers over organizational culture and work practices may intensify.
On the 1st (local time), The New York Times reported that "more than half of the 2,200 personnel at the TSMC Arizona factory are Taiwanese," adding that "as TSMC requested visas for 500 Taiwanese workers to install highly specialized equipment, the labor union in Arizona expressed dissatisfaction."
TSMC is expected to deploy additional skilled workers to timely operate its factory, as it plans to install cutting-edge processes below 3㎚ at its Phoenix factory in Arizona. IT media Tom's Hardware noted, "Rather than hiring local American workers who lack experience in installing advanced equipment and expanding factories, TSMC is likely to send personnel from its home country."
At the P2 facility of the Arizona factory, TSMC plans to install its 3㎚ process N3, while the P3 facility will feature the 2㎚ process N2 and the 1.6㎚ process A16 line. The latest 3㎚ process, currently in mass production, will be coupled with the 2㎚ process that is undergoing testing with customer companies, along with the advanced technology of 1.6㎚ being newly established. Additionally, state-of-the-art packaging facilities (CoWoS) applicable to advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes will also be constructed. Given TSMC's standpoint, which is accelerating expansion plans due to the surging demand for advanced processes, dispatching skilled engineers is urgent.
Lee Jong-hwan, a professor in the Department of System Semiconductor Engineering at Sangmyung University, said, "Installing and operating equipment according to design for advanced processes below 3㎚ is challenging, and optimizing the process for mass production of products after expansion takes several months, making skilled engineers essential." He noted, "Finding such engineers locally in the United States is virtually impossible, and considering the increasing demand for advanced processes and the shortage of production facilities, TSMC would want to dispatch its personnel for rapid factory operation and process stabilization."
There are concerns that the conflict with local hired workers may intensify if TSMC dispatches additional Taiwanese personnel. Conflicts between Taiwanese dispatched employees and local American workers have already surfaced multiple times at the TSMC Arizona factory. Taiwanese TSMC employees have complained that American workers cannot adapt to the company’s organizational culture and intense work methods. The Arizona labor union has also claimed that the jobs of local residents have been taken away with the dispatch of over 1,000 TSMC Taiwanese employees.
Lawsuits have also arisen between local hired workers and TSMC dispatched employees. According to the NYT, 13 former employees in Arizona filed a lawsuit accusing TSMC of having an 'anti-American culture.' The NYT reported, "The lawsuit alleges that TSMC denied promotion opportunities to non-Asian or non-Taiwanese workers while rating them poorly and pushing them out of the company."
An industry official in the semiconductor sector observed, "The reason TSMC has been able to stay ahead in the foundry industry is that its employees have been willing to work overtime when necessary and jump into the industrial field." He added, "There will inevitably be differences in the working styles between the locally hired American workers and Taiwanese TSMC employees, who are ingrained in this kind of organizational culture, which always poses the potential for escalating conflicts."