Zhang Zhongmou: Dedicated engineers are Taiwan’s advantage. TSMC’s turnover rate is less than 5% | Industrial Economics | Central News Agency CNA

(Central News Agency reporter Zhang Jianzhong, Taipei, 18th) TSMC founder Chang Chung-mou said today that Taiwan is a leader in chip manufacturing. Taiwan’s advantage is its talent, with very dedicated engineers. He pointed out that TSMC’s annual employee turnover rate is 4% to 5%. In contrast, the turnover rate in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s was 15% to 20%. “How can we achieve good results if the turnover rate exceeds 10%?”

Zhang Zhongmou was invited to attend the annual meeting of the International Judges Association today to give a speech on “Taiwan’s Wafer Manufacturing Competitive Advantages.” He introduced the history and division of labor of chips, and explained Taiwan’s advantages.

Zhang Zhongmou said that AT&T developed the transistor in 1947 to replace the vacuum tube. In 1952, it licensed the transistor technology to IBM and other companies and began to produce transistors.

Intel founder Gordon Moore proposed “Moore’s Law” in 1965, predicting that the number of transistors on a chip would double every 1.5 to 2 years.

Zhang Zhongmou said that Moore’s Law has been maintained for 50 years. As the cost of transistors decreases, their applications become more widespread. Chips are everywhere, ranging from national defense missiles to smartphones and cars. Chips are used in Apple’s (Apple) advanced smartphones. transistor.

Talking about the division of labor in semiconductors, Zhang Zhongmou said that in the entire wafer manufacturing process, engineers will first design the wafer, and then wafer manufacturing and packaging. In the past, all processes were completed in one company. He established TSMC in Taiwan in 1987 and created a foundry business model that would not compete with customers Apple and NVIDIA, allowing chip designers to focus on designing chips.

Zhang Zhongmou said that the United States had a very good competitive advantage in wafer manufacturing in the 1950s and 1960s, but now the situation has changed and Taiwan has an advantage in wafer manufacturing. Taiwan’s advantage is its talent, with very dedicated engineers.

Zhang Zhongmou said that Taiwan’s talents are willing to work in a wafer factory environment. TSMC’s annual turnover rate is about 4% to 5%, and the turnover rate in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s was 15% to 20%. It takes several years to train operators and engineers, and the turnover rate exceeds 10%. “How can we achieve good results?”

In addition, Taiwan has convenient transportation. Zhang Zhongmou pointed out that Taiwan has three manufacturing bases in Hsinchu, Taichung and Tainan, which can be connected to each other through high-speed rail. 1,000 to 2,000 engineers can live in different cities. This approach may not be feasible in the United States.

Zhang Zhongmou said that in developed countries with a population of 2.5 billion in the world, almost everyone uses chip products. Chip manufacturing is crucial, and Taiwan is currently the leader in chip manufacturing, and it needs to defend this leadership position. (Editor: Zhang Liangzhi) 1120918