Friday, July 28th 2023
Acer Co-founder Skeptical about US Semiconductor Industry's Prospects
Stan Shih, the co-founder & honorary chairman of Acer Inc., thinks that the USA will have hard time catching up with Asian semiconductor production facilities. Yahoo Taiwan managed to extract some choice comments from the multi-faceted businessman—he believes that the US government's initiative to boost native chip making will not be enough to match existing overseas strongholds. A key area of focus was volume output—Shih reckons that North America is already too far behind Asian counterpart industries, with Acer's home base of Taiwan being particularly strong (in his opinion). Workplace culture and state of the art equipment are cited as the main pillars for success.
Shih observed that that US chip industry has historically been far too reliant on outsourcing (going back many decades) production to foreign facilities, and Asia's position has been fortified thanks to long established and optimized supply chains—he thinks that the American system is not mature enough to reach parity. On a semi-related note, TSMC is reportedly struggling to get its new US facility fully operational—company chairman Mark Liu (according to Tom's Hardware): "said that the Taiwanese company would delay mass production of its Arizona fab from early 2024 to 2025, partly due to a lack of cleanroom tools necessary to produce chips at scale." TSMC has been transferring staff from its home turf to plug staffing gaps at the Phoenix facility—Liu divulged his latest batch of complaints during an earnings conference (last Thursday): "We are encountering certain challenges, as there is an insufficient number of skilled workers with the specialized expertise required for equipment installation in a semiconductor-grade facility."
Sources:
Yahoo Taiwan, Tom's Hardware, DigiTimes (image source), Semi Analysis (image source)
Shih observed that that US chip industry has historically been far too reliant on outsourcing (going back many decades) production to foreign facilities, and Asia's position has been fortified thanks to long established and optimized supply chains—he thinks that the American system is not mature enough to reach parity. On a semi-related note, TSMC is reportedly struggling to get its new US facility fully operational—company chairman Mark Liu (according to Tom's Hardware): "said that the Taiwanese company would delay mass production of its Arizona fab from early 2024 to 2025, partly due to a lack of cleanroom tools necessary to produce chips at scale." TSMC has been transferring staff from its home turf to plug staffing gaps at the Phoenix facility—Liu divulged his latest batch of complaints during an earnings conference (last Thursday): "We are encountering certain challenges, as there is an insufficient number of skilled workers with the specialized expertise required for equipment installation in a semiconductor-grade facility."
22 Comments on Acer Co-founder Skeptical about US Semiconductor Industry's Prospects
**I will say though that American workers let themselves be exploited much more than European workers however
Don't doubt the power of American "capitalism".
They are essentially so used to a constant threat looming, they've become numb to it.
how long is tsmc in the lead now 6years?
I've said this before and still can't believe TSMC screwed themselves in such a business 101 kind of way. The Phoenix labor issues are of their own making. They did nothing substantial in regards to recruiting at any of the bajillion universities and colleges in the region prior to breaking ground. Assuming you will have a specialized labor force ready to go, without putting any real effort into training or recruiting well ahead of opening the doors is and was a major oversight. It's as if they thought people would be clamoring to get a job with a company very few in the US have ever heard of. If you need people on site ready to work in 2023, you get the word out as far and as fast as possible. As many years PRIOR to actually needing them as you are capable of. If they had simply done some basic homework they would've had droves of college kids knocking their doors down. The funniest part is they seem honestly surprised by the situation they've put themselves in? I also wonder if they realized they were entering a labor market that was already full of opportunities for new job seekers? It was an ultra competitive market when they started their employee search. Employers even now are finding it extremely difficult to fill openings. Lastly, American employees and Taiwanese workers are nothing alike. Did they take the cultural differences into account? It doesn't seem so.
Even before the recent China crisis anyone who had an interest in this sector had at least heard of TSMC.
There is no complete happiness.
In general, labor law in Taiwan is much more progressive than in the US, backed by a strong and militant labor movement. Taiwanese workers are guaranteed two days off a week and are guaranteed annual leave. If they’re terminated then their employer has to pay for any unused leave days.
There is no at-will termination in Taiwan, and workers are often notified before they’re terminated. In the case of redundancies, the government provides incentives for retaining redundant employees by providing a new position for them. Employees are also guaranteed 30 days of sick-leave with half-pay if not hospitalized and up to one year of sick-leave within a two-year period if hospitalized (they also have single-payer healthcare).
That's just a fact of life you cannot ignore ~ where you are born dictates a lot of what you achieve in life, your health, your career prospects & your work hours. Some of it is exploited for sure but I'd say the vast majority is just something natural, if you can call it that.
so if last week's Typhoon Doksuri had been a direct hit, there may have been one or two typhoon days. Then, the expectation is you'd have perhaps one or two half days in the next few weeks on a Saturday to make up for the lost day of work.
for those that grew up in Taiwan, it is no big deal, as the normal week of schooling also involved half a day on Saturdays.
but yes, continue to talk about worker exploitation in Taiwan. ironically for most Taiwanese, TSMC is a top company to work for. it doesn't even start with working... education in Taiwan when I grew up there was M-F 8AM - 5PM, for my middle school. Saturdays was a half day, 8-1.
Mandatory 60 minute lunch, split into 30 minutes eating 30 minutes napping (you have to keep your head down at your desk)
After the second year, public middle schools will divide students into two groups to maximize your chances of doing well in your high school entrance exam (which maximizes your chances of going to college).
In addition to our normal school schedule, some parents also pay extra for tutors and after-hours cram classes to improve test taking skills.
The downside to all this is that the opportunities for a college graduate in Taiwan in your early 20s is extremely limited, even for those with engineering or pre-med degrees. So what many people do to expand job opportunities is to venture abroad for a masters/MBA degree, often in Europe, and then use that as a mechanism to get your foot in the door with a larger company.
Some things can't be compared 1 to 1, and how people work in Taiwan (vs US/EU) is one of those things.