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.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS