TSMC isn’t exactly enjoying the American dream according to a survey by Nikkei Asia, published at the end of May. The Taiwanese chipmaker has begun construction of a $12 billion factory north of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. 80 kilometers to the south has been the campus of its American competitor, Intel, for forty years. Neighborhood relations would be complicated, mainly because of the labor shortage.
TSMC faces full employment in Arizona
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the number 1 in semiconductors, the company represents 7% of the total GDP of its country of origin. Semiconductor shortages and Sino-American tensions prompted TSMC to answer the call to locate some of its production at Uncle Sam.
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The company played along. Despite higher manufacturing costs, in 2020 it headed to the drylands of Arizona with its biggest foreign investment in years and the cutting edge of its technology. Problem, in Arizona we do not know TSMC, the Taiwanese super star must rediscover anonymity.
In a very contracted employment market, Arizona is in a situation of full employment with minus 4% of unemployment since the beginning of 2022 according to county economy, attracting talent promises to be very difficult. Additional test, in a country where the production of semiconductor has been relocated for decades, the sector is unknown for the young local engineers.
Kweilin Waller, deputy director of social services at the Phoenix Business and Workforce Development Board, told Nikkei ” You say “semiconductor manufacturing” [à des recrues potentielles], people look at you like you have two heads. It’s just not familiar “.
TSMC is making efforts to recruit qualified technicians. She took part in a local two-week fast training program in March. The notoriety deficit does not help.
The American state is certainly not devoid of interest. Arizona State University (ASU) is the largest engineering school in the United States. An ideal hunting ground for the company’s human resources management. New pitfall, one of the competitors is already very well established on the spot, Intel.
Intel is sucking up local talent
The ASU is the main provider of arms for the American company, which has been established for a long time in the territory. Major competition in an already difficult market. TSMC leaves with other handicaps. According to Glassdoor, the company’s average salary in the United States is $118,000, compared to $128,000 at Intel, not to mention the large companies in Silicon Valley where the sums reach $156,000 in 2021.
TSMC can also frighten with its reputedly extremely strict corporate culture. The working hours are long, the respect of the hierarchy obligatory, the rigorous discipline. An employee must be available at all times if needed, enough to put off young engineers overwhelmed with proposals.
A TSMC spokesperson assured Nikkei have ” received many resumes from engineering graduates from top-tier universities and we are confident that the strength and diversity of the engineering talent pool at colleges and universities across the United States will allow us to recruit exceptional people “. According to information from the Japanese media, the company would still consider recruiting in Taiwan for its factory in Arizona, at least for the first two or three years of operation of the factory.
It must formally start operating in 2024. An objective also threatened by the shortage of jobs. TSMC was to install its equipment in September, it will finally be for the 1st quarter of 2023. Construction workers are not easier to find than engineers, moreover in a region where it is 38°C in summer. Intel, still the same, is building a $20 billion campus extension, which also leads to competition in recruitment on this terrain.
The establishment of a TSMC high-tech factory in the United States seems, for the moment, to be a quagmire. The European Union, which seeks to attract semi-builder factories to its territory, would be inspired to study the situation, to offer better conditions for the possible arrival of the Taiwanese giant.