TSMC under fire for blaming Arizona delays on skills deficit

TSMC under fire for blaming Arizona delays on skills deficit

2023-08-02

Meanwhile in the U.S. state of Arizona, the construction of TSMC’s first American chip plant is well behind schedule. The company has blamed a skills shortage among American workers. But an Arizona union leader is firing back, saying local workers are experienced and fully qualified. According to Aaron Butler, TSMC is using the skills deficit as an excuse to bring in low-paid labor from Taiwan.

At this large factory built over a desert, giant cranes stretch into the sky. This is TSMC’s facility in Arizona, where construction is still underway.

Voice of Mark Liu (July 20)
TMSC chairman
As there is an insufficient amount of skilled workers with the specialized expertise required for equipment installation in a semiconductor-grade facility, we expect the production schedule of N4 process technology to be pushed out to 2025.

With the U.S. project delayed, TSMC’s contractors have reportedly launched an urgent recruitment campaign in Taiwan. According to a source, one contractor put up a job listing for manual labor, offering NT$150,000 a month plus overtime, with free transport to the U.S., free housing, and tax incentives. The job was open to inexperienced workers, but restricted to those with a red supplier work permit issued by TSMC.

Kuo Chin-i
Construction vendor
For a wage of NT$150,000 a month, this entails working the entirety of the month. As for going overseas to take this job, there’s no way a self-employed worker could do it. There might be a broker’s fee involved. Taiwan also has a severe labor shortage. So pulling people from this market to that market wouldn’t be easy.

TSMC itself has assigned Taiwanese staff to its Arizona site. But the move has faced pushback from local unions. In a column for a local business journal, union head Aaron Butler says there are thousands of local workers with experience building fabs for Intel. He says that blaming American workers for project delays is offensive, and is an excuse for importing low-paid labor. In response, TSMC said the project was currently in a critical phase and it had sent in a limited number of specialists, who would not affect the original staffing plans for 12,000 workers. TMSC pledged to continue hiring locally, emphasizing that local workers would not be replaced with foreign ones. It said it would continue to work with suppliers to create job opportunities.

Yang Tsung-pin
Job bank spokesman
When businesses move to countries where wages are higher, there will inevitably be conflict with local unions. Taiwan’s wage level, compared to nations around the world, is lower than the level in Europe and the U.S.

TSMC’s procurement demands have had a significant impact on its supply chain’s output value. According to its latest sustainability report, it created an output value of NT$2.07 trillion in the supply chain in 2022. It also generated 309,000 local job opportunities and NT$238.52 billion in payroll through the supply chain. Amid setbacks at its Arizona facility, the firm has reiterated its commitment to working with the local supply chain to generate economic benefits for the U.S.