TSMC chairman says 'Not being criticized is the biggest enemy of engineers,' as company works through union problems at Arizona fab
The culture clash may be ending.
A culture clash between the Taiwanese company and the local American workforce has hindered TSMC's efforts to build a chip fab in Arizona, and according to the Commercial Times, the tensions are defusing. The completion of Fab 21 has been delayed to 2025 because of worker-related issues — but TSMC chairman Mark Liu expressed optimism that the company is learning how to engage with U.S. workers to get the facility up and running.
The most immediate trigger for the current troubles has been TSMC's decision to send 500 Taiwanese workers to get Fab 21 back on track. Arizonans haven't taken too kindly to this move, prompting a labor union and two political action committees (or PACs) to take action. The groups are now campaigning to block foreign workers from entering the country and insist that TSMC must employ locals.
TSMC has received plenty of scathing criticism from the U.S. press for its conflicts with the union — criticism that chairman Mark Liu notes the company doesn't receive from the Taiwanese media due to its revered status in Taiwan for serving as the 'silicon shield' that protects the country from invasion from China. However, Liu remarked that criticism can be good, "Not being criticized is the biggest enemy of engineers."
Many of TSMC's struggles in the U.S. have revolved around its contentious relationship with U.S. unions, adding another new wrinkle for the company to learn from — unions have a much weaker presence in Taiwan compared to the U.S. Liu says the company has been working to solve conflicts with the union and work through the wider cultural conflict between his company and American workers.
Liu said that communication with the unions is now "very good" and that this "learning experience is very important for TSMC." He also commended unions for "promoting the cohesion of employees."
Liu cited an example of Toyota setting up factories in the U.S. Initial attempts in the 80s went poorly for Toyota, but the construction for subsequent factories was smoother as the company acclimated to America's cultural landscape. "The key is to have adequate communication, rather than looking at personality, culture, etc," said Liu.
The consequences of being unable to resolve cultural conflicts can be severe, especially when public funding is involved. The Superconducting Super Collider (or SSC) was notorious for its delays and high costs, caused at least in part by the cultural tensions between scientists and engineers from the military-industrial complex. Those issues didn't even have a dimension of coming from a different country, yet it was still a critical problem all the same.
Congress ultimately canceled the SSC due to its back-to-back delays and ballooning budget, a fate that TSMC will undoubtedly prefer not to repeat. The CHIPS Act, which funds Fab 21 and other projects, is already under fire for its high cost, and most of the funds need to be approved by Congress every year. For TSMC's sake, hopefully, Liu is correct that the current issues are getting ironed out.
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Matthew Connatser is a freelancing writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes articles about CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, and computers in general.
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evdjj3j My comment wasn't meant to be anti labor, I was paraphrasing this quote from Yvette Trellu, executive vice president of the Michelin Tire Corporation in 1978.Reply
“The only companies that get unionized are those that deserve it” -
The Historical Fidelity To quote the great Will Smith, “Don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing”Reply -
Soulxlight
Why? I can't think of a reason why Taiwan would have strong unions. Taiwan was pretty authoritarian for a long time. Authoritative governments aren't known for strong union support. They were a military dictatorship for a long time and didn't even have democratic elections till the 90s. So the largely state owned TSMC wouldn't have had a reason for unions.williamcll said:Ironic that the US somehow has a stronger union prescence than the taiwanese.
Honestly this move to build in the US isn't good for TSMC. It is pretty much being forced on them for closer relations and arms deals with the US. Building chips in the US is just a losing deal skill wise and monetarily for them. -
Soulxlight
Honestly if they had another option politically they probably wouldn't bother. Building chips in the US is a losing proposition. Less skilled workers, way higher prices relative to the taiwanese new dollar. Really a headache they're willing to lose money on to keep Washington happy even.evdjj3j said:Treat people right and they won't have a reason to organize. -
evdjj3j
Building chips in the US is not a losing deal when you add in all of the military protection they receive. Looks like the US government is going to pump a ton of money into Intel so once they get up to speed, which they will, we wont need TSMC as much as we do now.Soulxlight said:Why? I can't think of a reason why Taiwan would have strong unions. Taiwan was pretty authoritarian for a long time. Authoritative governments aren't known for strong union support. They were a military dictatorship for a long time and didn't even have democratic elections till the 90s. So the largely state owned TSMC wouldn't have had a reason for unions.
Honestly this move to build in the US isn't good for TSMC. It is pretty much being forced on them for closer relations and arms deals with the US. Building chips in the US is just a losing deal skill wise and monetarily for them.
I don't guess you know a whole lot about union training. I know pipefitters have to go through a 5 year apprenticeship before they become a journeyman. I'm sure the other construction trades go through a similar amount of training.
If you think installing a 3000 ton chiller and the associated plumbing is low skilled labor then you need to think again. -
unitedbamboo
The US is trying to destroy TSMC. Like they destroyed Toshiba and tried to with Huawei.evdjj3j said:Building chips in the US is not a losing deal when you add in all of the military protection they receive. Looks like the US government is going to pump a ton of money into Intel so once they get up to speed, which they will, we wont need TSMC as much as we do now.
I don't guess you know a whole lot about union training. I know pipefitters have to go through a 5 year apprenticeship before they become a journeyman. I'm sure the other construction trades go through a similar amount of training.
If you think installing a 3000 ton chiller and the associated plumbing is low skilled labor then you need to think again.
Statement above alone proves TSMC is wasting money building a US facility. Look at Foxconn in Wisconsin. The multi billion dollar project is now home to a 99cent store 🤣🤣🤣 -
The Historical Fidelity
Where are you getting your facts? Nothing could be further from the truthunitedbamboo said:The US is trying to destroy TSMC. Like they destroyed Toshiba and tried to with Huawei.
Statement above alone proves TSMC is wasting money building a US facility. Look at Foxconn in Wisconsin. The multi billion dollar project is now home to a 99cent store 🤣🤣🤣