台積電美國麻煩劇增 成本高 員工水土不服

沒吸引力，美國工程師不願跳槽台積電

作者：朱秩磊 來源：愛集微  2022-12-07

集微網消息，12月6日台積電亞利桑那州新廠移機典禮政商貴賓雲集，賺足全球目光。然而，當地工程師卻對眾人趨之若鶩的台積電興趣缺缺，願意跳槽的工程師寥寥無幾。

據台媒報道，在台積電新廠所在地鳳凰城的一家國防企業工作的工程師表示，他本人就來自中國台灣，深諳台積電的企業文化，而在美國工作已超過30年的他早已更適應當地慢節奏的職場氣氛，“去台企工作已經拚不動了”。他還透露，雖然台積電在華人眼中是不得了的存在，但是其美國同事對該公司並不了解，“隻知道有一家台灣來的企業在鳳凰城大手筆投資”，“他們似乎也沒有跳槽的想法”。

另一位在英特爾工作的工程師則表示，台積電雖然技術很先進，但是始終是一家代工廠，其為蘋果、AMD、高通、英偉達等生產的芯片最終也是貼後者的牌，消費者記住的隻有蘋果。“所以美國的工程師並不會認為在台積電工作是多大的榮譽，薪資如果不是足夠高，沒理由要跳槽。”

另外，初入職場的新人也對台積電沒有什麽興趣。

台積電也向美國政府表達了在美建廠麵臨包括人才短缺在內的六大挑戰。其在美國以遠高於中國台灣地區的成本招募的工程專業畢業生，還是得送到台灣培訓一到一年半，最近一批在台灣培訓的美國新員工就因為“水土不服”而被本地的員工形容為“巨嬰”。

台積電美國工廠麻煩越來越大：成本高昂，員工水土不服

卜淑情02-23 23:06

 

美國建廠成本是台灣的四倍，這項價值400億美元的投資似乎不太劃算。

台積電美國亞利桑那州工廠明年即將投產，然而，在許多員工看來，這項價值400億美元的投資是一項糟糕透頂的商業決策。

根據媒體近期對11名台積電員工的采訪，台積電內部對於美國工廠的質疑聲越來越多。許多員工表示，美國項目可能會使台積電偏離研發重心，而這正是這家芯片巨頭長期以來的競爭力所在。另外，一些員工因為文化衝突不願意移居美國。

不僅如此，建廠和運營成本高企也為美國項目造成了巨大壓力，或進一步損害台積電的盈利能力。

員工管理阻礙重重

去年11月初，台積電包機把近300名員工送往美國，以作為台積電赴美的先頭部隊，後續預計還將有1000名員工陸續遷往美國。

但如今才過去3個月，一些員工就出現了“水土不服”的症狀。

一些接受媒體采訪的台積電工程師表示，對如何協調中美員工感到憂心忡忡。他們表示，在台灣，工程師工作時間長，周末還要輪班，自嘲他們在為芯片製造商“賣肝”，但美國員工可能不太願意做出這樣的犧牲。

一位去年離開台積電的工程師向媒體表示，他曾考慮過加入台積電的海外擴張計劃，但他意識到有可能不得不替美國員工收拾他們未完成的工作，便失去了興趣。

“生產晶圓最難的不是技術，”他直言，“最難的是人事管理。美國人在這方麵做得最差，因為美國人是最難管理的。”

還有一位工程師說，一些美國人完成多項任務時表現不佳，有時會拒絕接受新任務，而不是更加努力地完成所有任務。在接受媒體采訪的11名員工中，有8名員工均表示，中國員工認為他們在美國工廠承擔的責任比美國員工更大。

對於如何協調海內外員工，台積電發言人高孟華回應媒體稱，台積電正在加強員工培訓，幫助海外人才融入集團文化。她說，公司將“積極傾聽意見，並在需要時做好改變的準備”。

一項並不劃算的生意？

2020年5月，台積電宣布在美國亞利桑那州的菲尼克斯市建廠，最初承諾120億美元，去年12月，也就是拜登通過《芯片和科學法案》的四個月後，台積電宣布將投資加碼至400億美元，成為該公司在海外的最大一筆投資。

在宣布加碼投資的同時，台積電還宣布二期工程將於2026年開始導入3納米製程技術，一期工程預計將於明年開始導入4納米製程技術。

然而，這一雄心勃勃的投資計劃並不被業內人士看好。

“從商業角度來講，台積電在美國的投資是不合理的，”曾做過科技分析師的柯克蘭資本董事長Kirk Yang表示，理由是成本高昂，Yang還認為美國項目對台積電的好處微乎其微。

在上個月的財報電話會議上，台積電預計，受人力開支、許可證、合規性和通貨膨脹的影響，美國的建廠成本可能至少是台灣的四倍。台積電首席財務官黃仁昭表示，美國項目可能會損害台積電今年的盈利能力。

“台積電已經意識到到台灣晶圓廠與海外晶圓廠之間存在成本差距，”高孟華說。不過她表示公司仍預計長期毛利率強勁。

台積電美國工廠項目引發內部質疑

JOHN LIU, 孟建國

2023年2月23日

台灣積體電路製造公司正在升級和擴建其位於菲尼克斯的工廠，這是美國科技戰略的重要項目。 ADRIANA ZEHBRAUSKAS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

作為全球最大的先進計算機芯片製造商，台灣積體電路製造公司正在升級和擴建位於亞利桑那州的新廠，承諾幫助美國邁向更自主的科技未來。

但在該公司的一些人看來，這個耗資400億美元的項目則是另一回事：一個糟糕的商業決策。

根據對11名台積電員工的采訪，這家台灣芯片製造商對其美國工廠的內部質疑越來越多。因為不能公開談及此事，這些員工均要求匿名。許多員工表示，該項目可能會分散對研發的關注，而這正是該公司長期以來的競爭力所在。一些人還說，因為可能存在文化衝突，他們對移居美國猶豫不決。

這些人的擔憂凸顯了台積電的棘手處境，作為全球最大的芯片製造商，該公司的產品驅動著從手機到汽車再到導彈的一切，掌握了令人夢寐以求的專有技術，具有重要的戰略意義。但隨著美中對技術主導地位的爭奪不斷加劇，台積電試圖對衝風險，卻發現其舉措正在製造新的緊張。

台積電在菲尼克斯北部郊區擴建工廠，旨在將先進微芯片生產帶到美國，避開與中國的任何潛在對峙。然而這一努力引發了內部擔憂，高昂的成本和管理上的挑戰表明，將人類有史以來最複雜的製造工藝之一移植到地球另一端是極其困難的。

台積電亞利桑那工廠背負著必須成功的巨大壓力。失敗意味著美國培育先進芯片製造業的努力受挫，這一行業在幾十年前就已大部分轉移亞洲，而台積電要對一家無法生產足夠可用芯片的工廠投入無數資金，得不償失。

台積電最初承諾向亞利桑那項目投資120億美元，在去年又增加到400億美元。 T.J. KIRKPATRICK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

“台積電在美國投資從商業的角度來講是不合理的，”曾做過科技分析師的柯克蘭資本董事長楊應超(Kirk Yang)表示，他給出的理由是成本高昂。他還說，台積電可能是出於政治考慮被迫在美國設廠，但“到目前為止，菲尼克斯項目對台積電或台灣的好處是微乎其微的”。

在近年來全球對芯片生產地緣政治的擔憂日益加深之際，亞利桑那項目是台積電對相關憂慮的首次重大讓步，這種擔憂一定程度上源於中國對台灣的敵對姿態和芯片短缺的出現。

這家芯片巨頭多年來將大部分工廠設在台灣，目前也在日本修建廠房。據兩位知情人透露，歐洲政策製定者已經出台了吸引台積電建廠的項目，公司正處於就建廠事宜做出決定的最後階段。

台積電發言人高孟華沒有直接回應對於投資亞利桑那的內部擔憂。但她在電子郵件中聲明，在美建廠的決定基於多種因素，包括客戶需求、市場機遇和挖掘全球人才的機會。

高孟華還表示，台積電正在加強員工培訓，幫助海外人才融入集團文化。她說，公司將“積極傾聽意見，並在需要時做好改變的準備”。

芯片由像這樣的矽片製成，這項基本技術可為電腦、冰箱、手機等許多其他物品提供動力。 LAM YIK FEI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

台積電於2020年5月宣布在亞利桑那州建廠，最初承諾投入120億美元。去年12月，該公司將投資增加到400億美元，並計劃用更先進的——雖然不是最先進的——芯片製造技術升級工廠。預計該工廠將於2024年開始生產微芯片，公司表示稍後將在該地增設第二家工廠。

項目麵臨著挑戰。在上個月的財報電話會議上，台積電表示，受人力開支、許可證、合規性和通貨膨脹的影響，美國的建設成本可能至少是台灣的四倍。台積電首席財務官黃仁昭表示，美國建廠投資可能會損害台積電今年的盈利能力。

“台積電認識到台灣晶圓廠與海外晶圓廠之間存在成本差距，”高孟華說。她還說，公司仍預計長期毛利率強勁。

台積電還需要附近的供應商為亞利桑那工廠提供原材料、設備和關鍵部件。然而，一些試圖參與的供應商表示，他們遇到了人力困難和高成本。

化學品供應商長春亞利桑那投資3億美元在亞利桑那州卡薩格蘭德建廠，距離菲尼克斯約一小時車程，其總裁蘇裕弘表示，這裏的建造成本是台灣的10倍。他說，成本高是因為對美國法規和建築許可不夠熟悉，以及生產材料供應不足。

站在台灣台南的一家台積電工廠外的美國員工。 一些台灣員工表示，他們擔心與美國員工的文化差異。 LAM YIK FEI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

這家台灣芯片巨頭的工程和建築承包商中鼎工程的董事長楊宗興表示，亞利桑那工廠的建設成本“遠遠超出”他的客戶的預期。他說，除了不斷上升的通貨膨脹之外，這家芯片製造商還在與英特爾競爭——後者也在亞利桑那州擴張——爭奪技術工人和建築設備。

“一開始的這個quotation（報價）當然我的業主是說：‘你瘋了啊’，就是這樣子嘛，”楊宗興說。

一些台積電工程師表示，亞利桑那工廠的美國和台灣員工融合問題讓他們擔心。他們說，在台灣，工程師工作時間長，周末輪班，開玩笑說他們在“賣肝”為芯片製造商工作。他們說，美國員工可能不太願意做出這樣的犧牲。

去年離開台積電的工程師韋恩·邱表示，他曾考慮過加入該公司的海外擴張計劃，但他意識到有可能不得不替美國員工收拾他們未完成的工作，便失去了興趣。

“晶圓製造最困難的不是技術，”他說。“最難的是人事管理。美國人在這方麵做得最差，因為美國人是最難管理的。”

培訓美國工程師的三名台積電員工表示，很難讓他們做到標準化。他們說，台灣工人二話不說就會去照做，但美國員工向經理提出挑戰，質疑是否有更好的方法。

亞利桑那州台積電的一位工程師說，一些美國人在分配多項任務時表現不佳，有時會拒絕接受新任務，而不是更加努力地完成所有任務。八名員工表示，台灣員工認為在菲尼克斯工作的人將承擔比美國同事更大的責任。

台南芯片廠。台積電創始人過去曾表示，台灣為公司提供了美國無法比擬的優勢。 LAM YIK FEI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

台積電20多年前的第一筆美國投資，也具有警示意義。

 

1990年代後期，台積電創始人張忠謀推行了一項雄心勃勃的海外擴張計劃，並在華盛頓州創建了芯片製造子公司Wafer Tech。張忠謀去年在布魯金斯學會的播客中說，盡管承諾在那裏建立多家工廠，但在經曆了包括高成本和熟練勞動力短缺在內的“一係列出乎意料的糟糕經曆”後，他在建成第一個工廠後停了下來。

 

張忠謀曾質疑美國重塑全球半導體供應鏈的努力，他在2021年的一個公開論壇上表示，台積電成功背後的台灣優勢無法在美國複製。

 

在布魯金斯學會的播客中，他還指出，美國政府根據CHIPS法案指定的520億美元補貼不足以啟動該行業。CHIPS法案是一項旨在刺激國內先進芯片生產的聯邦資助計劃。他稱之為“徒勞無益的昂貴實踐”。

 

但在台積電去年12月宣布擴建菲尼克斯工廠時，張忠謀似乎改變了想法。他說，這一次，公司“準備得更充分”。

 

在給《紐約時報》的一封電子郵件中，張忠謀表示，他堅持他在去年播客和12月在亞利桑那州舉行的活動中的言論。他拒絕進一步置評。

“晶圓製造最難的不是技術，”前台積電員韋恩·邱說。 “最難的是人事管理。” LAM YIK FEI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

John Liu於2021年加入時報，負責報道中國新聞。此前他在《緬甸時報》任記者，並為國際新聞機構報道台灣方麵的新聞。歡迎在Twitter上關注他：@JohnLiuNN。

孟建國(Paul Mozur)是時報科技記者。他主要報道亞洲科技和地緣政治的交叉議題。他曾兩次入圍普利策獎。歡迎在Twitter上關注他： @paulmozur。

翻譯：紐約時報中文網

 

Inside Taiwanese Chip Giant, a U.S. Expansion Stokes Tensions

Employee doubts are rising about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s $40 billion investment in an Arizona factory.

 

 

 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is upgrading and expanding a factory it is building in Phoenix, a vital project for U.S. tech strategy.Credit...Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

 

By John Liu and Paul Mozur

John Liu and Paul Mozur, who are based in Seoul, interviewed dozens of semiconductor experts on the geopolitics of Taiwan's chip making.

 

Feb. 22, 2023

 

 

 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s biggest maker of advanced computer chips, is upgrading and expanding a new factory in Arizona that promises to help move the United States toward a more self-reliant technological future.

But to some at the company, the $40 billion project is something else: a bad business decision.

Internal doubts are mounting at the Taiwanese chip maker over its U.S. factory, according to interviews with 11 TSMC employees, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Many of the workers said the project could distract from the research and development focus that had long helped TSMC outmaneuver rivals. Some added that they were hesitant to move to the United States because of potential culture clashes.

Their concerns underline TSMC’s tricky position. As the biggest maker of chips that power everything from phones to cars to missiles, the company is strategically important with highly coveted technical know-how. But caught in a deepening battle between the United States and China over technological leadership, TSMC has tried to hedge its bets — only to find that its actions are creating new kinds of tensions.

Its factory expansion in the northern outskirts of Phoenix is meant to bring advanced microchip production closer to the United States and away from any potential standoff with China. Yet the effort has stoked internal apprehension, with high costs and managerial challenges showing how difficult it is to transplant one of the most complicated manufacturing processes known to man halfway across the world.

The pressure for the Arizona factory to succeed is immense. Failure would mean a setback for U.S. efforts to cultivate the advanced chip manufacturing that mostly moved to Asia decades ago. And TSMC would have spent billions on a plant that did not produce enough viable chips to make it worth the effort.

Image  TSMC initially pledged $12 billion toward the Arizona project and increased that to $40 billion last year.Credit...T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

“TSMC’s investment in the U.S. from a business perspective makes no sense at all,” said Kirk Yang, chairman of the private equity firm Kirkland Capital and a former tech analyst, citing lofty costs. He added that TSMC might have been forced to set up a factory in the United States because of political considerations, but “so far, the Phoenix project has yielded very little benefit for TSMC or Taiwan.”

The Arizona project is TSMC’s first major concession to rising global concerns in recent years about the geopolitics of chip production, driven partly by fears over China’s hostile posture to Taiwan and over a chip shortage.

The chip giant, which has long had almost all its factories in Taiwan, is now also building a facility in Japan. European policymakers have rolled out plans to attract a TSMC factory, and the company is in the final stages of making a decision about that plant, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Nina Kao, a TSMC spokeswoman, did not directly address the internal concerns over the Arizona investment. But in an email, she said the decision on the U.S. factory location had been based on various factors, including customer demand, market opportunity and the chance to tap global talent.

The Global Race for Computer Chips

• A Ramp-Up in Spending: Amid a tech cold war with China, U.S. companies have pledged nearly $200 billion for chip manufacturing projects since early 2020. But the investments have limits.
• Crackdown on China: The United States has been aiming to prevent China from becoming an advanced power in chips, issuing sweeping restrictions on the country’s access to advanced technology.
• Arizona Factory: Internal doubts are mounting at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s biggest maker of advanced chips, over its investment in a new factory in Phoenix.
• CHIPS Act: The sprawling $280 billion bill passed by U.S. lawmakers last year gives the federal government new sway over the chips industry.

Ms. Kao added that TSMC was strengthening its training to integrate overseas talent into its corporate culture. The company will “actively listen and provide change where needed,” she said.

Image  Chips, which are made from silicon wafers like this one, are a foundational technology and help power computers, refrigerators, phones and many other items.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

TSMC announced the Arizona factory in May 2020, initially pledging $12 billion toward it. In December, the company increased that to $40 billion, with plans to upgrade the factory with more advanced — though not the most advanced — chip-making technology. The plant is expected to begin producing microchips by 2024, and the company said it would later add a second factory to the site.

The project is challenging. In an earnings call last month, TSMC said the U.S. construction could be at least four times the cost in Taiwan, driven by labor expenses, permits, regulatory compliance and inflation. Wendell Huang, TSMC’s chief financial officer, said the American investment could hurt TSMC’s profitability this year.

“TSMC recognizes that there is a cost gap between fabs in Taiwan and those overseas,” Ms. Kao said, using shorthand for a fabrication plant, or factory. She added that the company still anticipated robust gross margins over the long term.

TSMC also needs suppliers close by to provide the Arizona plant with raw materials, equipment and critical parts. Yet some suppliers that are trying to join it there said they were experiencing labor challenges and high costs.

Calvin Su, the president of Chang Chun Arizona, a chemical supplier that invested in its own $300 million factory in Casa Grande, Ariz., about an hour’s drive from Phoenix, said its factory construction cost was 10 times the cost in Taiwan. The costs were fueled by an unfamiliarity with U.S. regulations and building permits, as well as an insufficient supply of production materials, he said.

Image An American worker pausing outside a TSMC factory in Tainan, Taiwan. Some Taiwanese employees said they were concerned about cultural differences with U.S. workers.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Michael Yang, chairman of the CTCI Corporation, an engineering and construction contractor for the Taiwanese chip giant, said the Arizona factory’s construction cost was “far beyond” his client’s expectation. On top of rising inflation, the chip maker is competing with Intel — which is also expanding in Arizona — for skilled labor and construction equipment, he said.

“When we reported our quotation in the beginning, the client replied: ‘Are you insane?’ But that’s just the way it is,” Mr. Yang said.

Some TSMC engineers said they were concerned about how the Arizona factory would blend American and Taiwanese employees. In Taiwan, engineers work long hours and weekend shifts, joking that they “sell liver” to work for the chip manufacturer, they said. Such sacrifices may be less appealing to employees in the United States, they said.

Wayne Chiu, an engineer who left TSMC last year, said he had thought about joining the company’s overseas expansion drive but lost interest after realizing he would likely have to pick up the slack for U.S. hires.

“The most difficult thing about wafer manufacturing is not technology,” he said. “The most difficult thing is personnel management. Americans are the worst at this, because Americans are the most difficult to manage.”

Three TSMC employees who trained American engineers said it was difficult to standardize practices among them. While Taiwanese workers unquestioningly follow what they are told to do, American employees challenged managers, questioning if there might be better methods, they said.

Some Americans struggled when assigned multiple tasks, sometimes rejecting a new assignment instead of working harder to complete everything, one TSMC engineer in Arizona said. Taiwanese workers believe that those who work in Phoenix will shoulder greater responsibilities than their American colleagues, eight employees said.

Image  The Tainan chip factory. TSMC’s founder said in the past that Taiwan provided the company with advantages that couldn’t be matched in the United States.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

TSMC’s first American investment more than two decades ago has also served as a cautionary tale.

In the late 1990s, Morris Chang, the company’s founder, pushed an ambitious overseas expansion plan and created a chip-making subsidiary, WaferTech, in Washington State. Despite pledging to build multiple factories there, Mr. Chang stopped at one after “a series of ugly surprises,” including high costs and a shortage of skilled labor, he said in a podcast with the Brookings Institution last year.

Mr. Chang has questioned the U.S. effort to reshape the global semiconductor supply chain, saying at a public forum in 2021 that the advantages in Taiwan underlying TSMC’s success could not be replicated in the United States.

In the Brookings Institution podcast, he also argued that the $52 billion in U.S. government subsidies earmarked by the CHIPS Act, a federal funding package to stoke domestic production of advanced chips, would not be enough to jump-start the industry. He called it an “expensive exercise in futility.”

But at TSMC’s announcement of the Phoenix factory expansion in December, Mr. Chang appeared to have come around. This time, he said, the company is “far more prepared.”

In an email to The New York Times, Mr. Chang said he stood by his remarks in last year’s podcast and at the December event in Arizona. He declined to comment further.

Image “The most difficult thing about wafer manufacturing is not technology,” said Wayne Chiu, a former TSMC worker. “The most difficult thing is personnel management.”Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times