Intel, Other U.S. Tech Firms Giving TSMC A Run For Its Money

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), a trade group that lobbied for the CHIPS Act, estimates the $40-billion investment of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in the US will add 42,000 new jobs by 2030.

Photo Insert: TSMC’s US rivals like Intel, meanwhile, are defending against its recruiting onslaught.

But, TSMC says it will hire 4,500 new workers to support its two Arizona fabs, a sizable chunk of the total new jobs created, Yvonne Lau reported for Fortune.

But the company’s hiring ambitions have clashed with a US semiconductor industry whose in-demand workers are accustomed to working with accommodating, well-paying employers and have bristled at TSMC’s tack.

Interviews with recruiters indicate TSMC’s harsh working culture, rigid standards, and months-long overseas training requirements are turning off current and prospective US employees.

The chip giant says its Arizona hiring is on schedule, but it has introduced new policies of late that suggest it’s trying to combat a reputation as an unsparing employer among the engineers and technicians it urgently needs.

Another challenge is compensation. TSMC pays up to $160,000 annually “for PhDs with some good experience,” says an Arizona-based CEO of a semiconductor recruitment firm hiring for TSMC.

That same Ph.D. can earn some $30,000 more at Intel, according to Payscale, a website that tracks company salaries. TSMC’s US rivals, meanwhile, are defending against its recruiting onslaught.

The recruitment firm CEO says candidates have gotten “counter-offers like we’ve never seen. Intel is... giving [people] $10,000 to $20,000 to stick around. We’ve lost people that way.”

Anyone who’s talented and experienced is “highly sought after and making a lot of money. The challenge has been finding folks at Intel [and] GlobalFoundries to make a move without breaking the bank at the same time,” the CEO says.

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