TSMC’s American initiative may fail: the completion of the first of three factories in Arizona is delayed, the chips assembled there will be much more expensive than those assembled in Taiwan, and new employees do not accept the company’s usual culture.
12-hour work shifts that can be scheduled on weekends, overtime, calls from the administration in free time, rudeness from management, super-tasks and super-short deadlines. And of course, fines and threats of dismissal.
A quote from company founder Morris Chang is indicative in this regard: “If [машина] breaks at 1am in the US, it will be fixed the next morning. In Taiwan it will be done at 2 am.” But at what cost?
For the first time, Americans encountered the peculiarities of Asian labor policy in 2021, when they were sent to study in Taiwan. A large number of engineers were shocked by what they saw and quit immediately after returning. It is obvious that the company has retained its principles on American soil.
A large number of complaints attracted the attention of human rights activists to the company. Managers were even sent to anger management courses, but apparently this did not help. The problem is much deeper and lies in sociocultural differences. Asian colleagues do not understand the complaints of Americans, considering them lazy and capricious.
TSMC will have to solve many more problems before conquering the “Wild West”, and time flies. The company is already 2 years behind its original plans.
