SMIC and Huawei may have successfully developed the 5nm process, but mass-producing thousands of wafers using the older DUV machinery is posing a challenge that neither Chinese firm can scale at this point. Likely realizing the need for extreme measures if eliminating dependency on overseas companies is the primary goal, Huawei is said to be poaching TSMC engineers by offering monetary rewards in the form of triple the compensation that they currently receive.
TSMC engineers receive emails once every three months from Huawei management, asking them to seek employment in a different company
One of the engineers, a 43-year-old Taiwanese woman called Chloe Chen, can easily find several of these job emails in her inbox, where she is asked typical questions such as considering new opportunities and that a certain firm was looking for someone with her experience level. These emails originate from recruitment agencies controlled by Huawei, with French outlet Le Monde reporting that the individual has never answered any of them.
It is possible that she would be satisfied with her current position, or it is more than likely that joining Huawei would present a significantly greater risk for her future. In short, jumping ship to the former Chinese giant pretty much means that she would never again be hired by another Taiwanese firm again. The Taiwanese Justice Investigation Bureau has investigated multiple cases like this, where companies present themselves as data analysis firms.
In reality, these entities have an ulterior motive; to recruit Taiwanese talent for the development and mass production of cutting-edge semiconductors. The offers presented by Huawei would be difficult to ignore, as the latter tries to poach talent with salaries that are sometimes three times higher than what TSMC is paying its engineers. Since the end goal for these potential employers is to acquire the trade secrets of previous employers, the individuals receiving these emails would be discouraged over the possible sabotaging of their careers.
Furthermore, it is not confirmed how well these employees would be treated if they ever got hired by Huawei. Despite the tripled salaries, there is no way of knowing the working conditions of the new environment and if these people would get overworked to exhaustion just for Huawei to realize its dream. Additionally, these companies would have leverage over the new talent, as they would be aware that since no Taiwanese firm would ever hire them again, it leaves them open to being taken advantage of, putting them in an extremely difficult position.
News Source: Le Monde
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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