Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday it would rehire several hundred laid-off employees after revenues recovered from the worst global economic slump in decades.
The company also said it had no plans to cut more jobs this quarter.
‘WORST IS OVER’
The Hsinchu-based chipmaker dismissed several hundred employees early this year after the global downturn caused a sudden drop in business, TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) told employees via a televised speech yesterday.
“Though the economic crisis is not yet over, we are pleased that the company’s revenues have improved. The situation in the second quarter will be much better than the first quarter. The worst is over,” Chang said.
“We will not cut more jobs,” he added.
BACK NEXT MONTH
TSMC said the workers discharged early this year would have their jobs back next month.
The former TSMC workers had made a strong show in protest of the layoffs, at one point staging a sit-in outside Chang’s apartment.
Early this month, TSMC said last month’s sales had increased 58.1 percent to NT$22.45 billion (US$683 million) from NT$14.2 billion in March, indicating that the company was on track to hit its target of NT$74 billion in revenues in the second quarter after posting NT$39.5 billion last quarter.
On April 30, the company told investors the recovery could extend into the third quarter before entering a slow fourth quarter.
At the end of February, TSMC had about 22,000 employees globally, down 3.8 percent from 22,800 at the end of last year, its annual report said.
WORKER EVALUATIONS
Chang said rehiring the dismissed workers would be a remedy for the company’s misapplication of its annual Performance Management and Development employee appraisal. The company based layoff decisions earlier this year on the evaluations, sparking criticism.
Chang said TSMC valued its employees and did not plan any more layoffs based on the annual evaluation.
An executive at a local electronics company who requested not to be named said TSMC’s rare move to rehire employees seemed to concern other electronics manufacturers who have cut payrolls and are worried that TSMC is setting a bad precedent.
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