Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, announced at its annual sports day on Saturday that it would give NT$468 million (US$15.35 million) in bonuses to its employees.
Expressing gratitude to employees for their contributions, TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) said at the event in Hsinchu that it would give each of its roughly 39,000 employees who were working for TSMC as of May 31 a bonus of NT$12,000.
The payout is expected to be disbursed next month, TSMC said.
The company’s sports day is a favorite among TSMC employees, because they generally receive a bonus. This year, each employee is to receive the same amount as last year.
TSMC is experiencing sluggish sales growth in a generally difficult market, complicated by the US-China trade dispute.
Liu said the company expects sales to be slightly higher this year compared with last year, while sales for the global semiconductor industry as a whole are forecast to fall 12 percent.
TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀), whom Liu replaced as chairman after he retired in June last year, attended this year’s sports day after missing it last year and drew a huge ovation.
Chang urged employees to help TSMC maintain its lead in technology, further upgrade its production technology and boost clients’ trust to help maintain the company’s status in the global market.
Meanwhile, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) responded on the sidelines of the event to speculation that the company is planning to build a solar power plant in Pingtung County.
He said that the power plant would be built by the company’s clients, not the company itself, but that TSMC would consume all of the power produced.
Green energy is critical to society and the economy, Wei said, while pledging that TSMC would do its best to push up the ratio of green power consumption to total electricity consumption.
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