Comment

Comment on TSMC is delaying its Arizona foundry over a lack of skilled workers alongsde a $5.85B income slump

In this case, it’s not a lack of engineers. Taiwan leadership burned through their staff too quickly.

I’ve run into that a lot (mostly with India, but I’d assume it’s Eastern society as a whole). Leadership isn’t used to being questioned. There’s a very clear hierarchy that must be respected at all costs. I think it comes from the caste systems possibly. When US engineers roll in and propose changes, they’re dealt with swiftly and brutally.

(If you want to get philosophical about the culture difference, it’s why the US comes up with big ideas, and why Asia is so much better at execution).

There’s just an expectation that workers march in lockstep to the death, and US workers simply, culturally, are not like that. Especially not when they have valuable skills they can get paid for somewhere else.

Go look at Glassdoor for TSMC, it’s not a pretty picture.

The US has enough engineers…no one wants to pay for them or put up with their whining.

source

Sort:hotnew top

Talaraine@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It's more than that. TSMC expects American workers to operate under Asian expectations which is long hours for lower pay. They can't keep American workers b/c they just say no and work for the competition.

source
- RickRussell_CA@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  long hours for lower pay. They can’t keep American workers b/c they just say no and work for the competition
  
  Whenever a company says “lack of skilled workers” or “labor shortage”, just assume that it’s corporate newspeak for “we are entirely unwilling to pay what the market demands for those skills”.
  
  source
  - sj_zero ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    If they really wanted more skilled labour, then they'd hire entry level people.
    
    Shockingly, that doesn't happen. Huh!
a_spooky_specter@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Can’t say I’d be stoked to live in Arizona considering the recent heat wave either.

source
st0v@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
maybe I misinderstand your meaning but at its heart the real problem is that chip engineers salary has been stuck at ten years ago for about twenty years. Like 50k usd.

This in and of itself is not a huge problem but with no downstream opportunities there isn’t enough talent considering a career toward the top of the value chain.

The 1980s and 1990s saw alot of people come back to Taiwan, but the 2010s and 2020s sees it happen in another direction (mainland, the salary is awesome).

Of course many will say factory workers don’t need to smart enough to do design. but IC production is complicated and needs skilled labor with some understanding of what they’re doing.

source
average650@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’ve always heard Intel was bad to work for. I have to imagine that’s if it’s worse under tsmc, then of course people won’t work there.

source