Global chipmaking giant TSMC plans to hire 6,000 employees this year

By Michelle Toh, CNN

Semiconductor giant TSMC plans to add more than 6,000 jobs this year, despite a broader slowdown in demand for chips.

The world’s largest contract chipmaker is looking to recruit new engineers and production line operators across its home base of Taiwan — in the cities of Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — it confirmed Monday.

“TSMC is recruiting broadly from both experienced professionals and first-time job seekers,” including fresh college graduates, it said in a statement to CNN.

The manufacturing giant is looking for candidates with backgrounds in different fields of engineering, as well as finance, management and human resources, it added.

TSMC, which stands for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, produces an estimated 90% of the world’s super-advanced chips. It’s one of the world’s most valuable listed companies, with a market capitalization of 13.3 trillion New Taiwan Dollars (approximately $435.4 billion) as of Monday.

In Asia, TSMC’s market cap is currently neck-and-neck with that of Chinese tech giant Tencent, which is worth more at about 3.5 trillion Hong Kong dollars ($448.4 billion).

The Taiwanese chipmaker’s hiring spree coincides with an overall dip in global demand for chips, as consumers around the world buy fewer electronics due to high inflation and a broader economic slowdown.

In January, TSMC posted strong earnings, but warned of an expected drop in revenue in the first six months of the year. CEO CC Wei told analysts at the time that the firm expected “a healthy recovery” later in 2023, with sales expected to pick back up in the second half.

Due to its record earnings last year, TSMC’s board last month approved the distribution of $121 billion New Taiwan Dollars ($4 billion) in performance-related bonuses and profit sharing to employees based in Taiwan.

The board also approved a plan to inject up to $3.5 billion into the company’s subsidiary in Arizona, which is part of a previously announced investment of $40 billion in the United States. TSMC announced last year that it’s building a second semiconductor factory in Phoenix, and increasing its investment there.

The firm may also expand further overseas. In January, it said that it was considering opening its first plant in Europe and a second one in Japan.

TSMC currently employs around 70,000 employees, it told CNN Monday. That means its latest recruitment drive would boost its global headcount by nearly 9%.

The average salary for a new engineer based in Taiwan with a master’s degree would be 2 million New Taiwan Dollars (about $65,400), according to TSMC.

By comparison, the average monthly salary in Taiwan in 2022 was 44,417 Taiwanese dollars ($1,452), according to the government. That would equate to roughly 533,004 New Taiwan Dollars ($17,426) per year.

— Juliana Liu and Wayne Chang contributed to this report.

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