A recent report by the foreign media “Rest of World” has sparked discussion on the Internet. It is literally translated as “TSMC’s failure in the American desert.” It tells the story of the setbacks TSMC encountered when developing in the United States and the various uneasiness of American engineers who were originally planning to work in Arizona.
The article mentioned that engineer Bruce was originally looking forward to working at TSMC, but after learning the chip process and returning to Arizona, he found that the reality was completely different from what he thought. He faced language barriers, long working hours and a strict hierarchy, plus He is disappointed that production at the new plant has been delayed until 2025, and he is not alone in his concerns.
American engineers complain about a rigid company culture and a sense of hierarchy that leaves them dissatisfied. TSMC seniors believe that American employees lack the spirit of TSMC’s world-leading success – dedication and obedience.
TSMC has about 2,200 employees at its Arizona plant, half of whom are from Taiwan. “(TSMC) is trying to make Arizona Taiwanese, and that’s not going to work,” said G. Dan Hutcheson, a semiconductor industry analyst at research firm TechInsights.
TSMC employees also told the foreign media “Rest of World” that the key to TSMC’s success is the tense militarized working environment. Engineers are required to work 12 hours a day and sometimes overtime on weekends.
Employees such as Bruce must rely on Google Translate to communicate, and it is difficult to solve problems by relying solely on professional terms and pictures. An American engineer revealed that TSMC does not allow employees to upload data to Google, nor does it allow employees to use personal devices. Only company “T phones” can be used, and they cannot access applications or social media.
Two engineers revealed that sometimes supervisors would perform “stress tests” to ensure that Americans completed tasks within tight deadlines and sacrificed personal time for Taiwanese employees. However, TSMC has also tried to bridge cultural differences, such as relaxing the T Phones firewall and allowing all employees to log in to Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
Reports say that Bruce still chose to resign in 2023, and admitted that he felt “full of victory” when he walked out of the factory. He continued to communicate with TSMC’s senior management, but saw no changes.
In addition to U.S. factories, TSMC Japan is also facing cultural shock. Because the Japanese government has implemented a series of workplace reforms in recent years, Japanese engineers basically do not work overtime as soon as they get off work, which invisibly puts pressure on Taiwanese engineers who are willing to work overtime. How TSMC manages overseas companies, digests cultural conflicts between its own country and the United States/Japan, and improves its management system may be the biggest difficulty after setting up factories overseas.
(First image source: shutterstock)
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