TSMC's U.S. factory delayed production and employees complained: It's because of your poor management

According to news on August 24, the factory built by chip manufacturing giant TSMC in Phoenix, Arizona, has been unable to start production. One of the reasons given by the company is the lack of skilled workers. However, two construction site workers broke the news that the real reason was not a lack of workers, but poor operational management of TSMC.

TSMC said in July that the start of construction could be delayed by a year to 2025, in part because of a lack of skills and experience among U.S. workers. In an effort to return to normalcy, the company is trying to apply for visas for up to 500 Taiwanese technicians to assist with construction and training. Currently, nearly 12,000 people work at the site every day.

In response, the Arizona Plumbing Industry 469 General Labor Union, which represents more than 4,000 pipefitters, plumbers, welders and heating, ventilation and air conditioning technicians, launched a petition urging U.S. lawmakers to deny the issuance of these visas. The labor federation said TSMC deliberately devalued the skills of Arizona's workforce and feared U.S. workers would eventually be replaced.

A pipe cutter who has been working at the Arizona construction site for nearly a year said: "They (TSMC) keep saying that we are slowing them down. progress, but they didn’t give us the information we needed. If we were given the right information, most of us would be able to do the job."

However, TSMC insists that workers from Taiwan do not pose a threat to U.S. employment. threaten. A spokesman for the company said it was "routine practice to work with local labor and experienced international staff at this stage of construction to ensure the highest quality execution".

TSMC did not specifically respond to questions about site management issues, but a spokesperson said: "TSMC is committed to ensuring that working conditions in its supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and business operations are environmentally friendly. Harmless, responsible and ethical."

"TSMC wants you to get as little information as possible and complete the work as quickly as possible"

However, the above-mentioned pipe cutter said that the construction delay was entirely due to management The problem

The problem, he said, is not that American workers don't have the skills to build factories, but that they don't get enough resources to get the job done. He and many others working on the construction site said they had worked on similar jobs at chipmaker Intel in the past, so they knew that wasn't how it was supposed to be.

He said: "At Intel, they gave me a document that said: 'Hey, here are the devices I want you to build. Here are the deadlines. These are the standards.' You name it. Everything was there. TSMC was the complete opposite. They just said, 'Build this.' I had no blueprints, no planning. They basically assumed everyone knew how to get the job done, but I couldn't read their minds." "At Intel, they gave me a document that said, 'Hey, here are the devices I want you to build. Here are the deadlines. These are the standards.' Everything you can think of is there," he said. TSMC was the complete opposite. They just said, 'Build this.' I had no blueprints, no plans. They basically assumed everyone knew how to get the job done, but I couldn't read their minds."

He added that unlike the detailed blueprints he was used to, his work at TSMC was done almost exclusively by reviewing emails and pictures, which sometimes contained incomprehensible annotations.

He said that TSMC hopes that you will minimize the time to obtain information and complete the work as soon as possible

Earlier this month, media reports stated that one of the reasons for the delay in putting the factory into production was management challenges ( This is partly due to cultural differences between TSMC and American workers). In February this year, TSMC employees also said that it was difficult to manage American workers

TSMC and its main contractors bear a large responsibility for management issues, a pipe cutter said

" I don’t want to be in these buildings when they’re finished,”

Plumbers and welders on site said they were having trouble getting the materials they needed to complete the work. One welder said : "The main problem that prevents American workers or other workers from completing their work is the shortage of materials." He further added that sometimes he has to wait several days to get the materials he needs

The aforementioned pipe cutter said: "I have no idea how TSMC got to this point. It's like the Wild West. Everyone has their own job and they just let you do it. But there's no coordination."

He also said building code violations were also common, which also slowed down construction.

“Sometimes we had to redo the job two or three times because they would say, ‘This is how we do it in Taiwan.’ So we built to their specifications, but once it was done, we wouldn’t sign off approved because it is illegal and in violation of the International Building Code."

Pipe cutters said safety violations on construction sites are also common. At one point, "hundreds of kilograms" were hanging loosely about 10 meters above the workers' heads, a "very serious safety breach", he said.

He further pointed out that many workers from Taiwan wore tennis shoes on the construction site instead of work boots and did not wear safety glasses or gloves

He said he complained about a safety issue Two weeks later, spoke with the company's security representative. “He told me straight out that TSMC was only here to meet insurance requirements and they weren’t going to let us do anything,” he recalled, referring to the company’s focus on only basic safety requirements. "That's when I gave up."

On construction sites, many workers have raised safety concerns, and pipe cutters are not the only ones. In June, the media reported workers' claims that injuries and safety violations were common on construction sites. Luke Kasper, a representative of the Sheet Metal Workers Federation ) said: "This is the most unsafe construction site I have ever seen."

TSMC has defended its commitment to safety. When asked if there were safety issues at the site, the company said it is regularly audited to known safety standards and conducts internal audits of safety records to compare with state and national data. The company said its "recordable safety incident rate" in Arizona is nearly 80 percent lower than the number reported nationally.

A TSMC spokesperson said that TSMC attaches great importance to workplace safety for the operation of all facilities and Arizona projects.

TSMC and the state of Arizona signed a workplace safety agreement earlier this month. The reason is a number of health and safety complaints received over the past year. Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to abide by higher safety standards than federal standards, including enhanced supervision, increased training and stricter safety inspections

The pipe cutter said he was concerned that thousands of workers would Workers working there are worried.

He said: "In the United States, semiconductor factories are one of the most dangerous workplaces because there are a lot of chemicals there. If an accident occurs, these chemicals are very dangerous. That's what I'm worried about. I don't want to Stay in these buildings after they are completed.”

“We are not against workers from China. We are against TSMC”

The pipe cutters and welders interviewed said that every morning When entering the construction site, they faced up to an hour-long security check and experienced delays from queuing to putting on work clothes, known as "bunny suits."

The pipe cutter said: "Then you put on the protective clothing and realize that your size is not available. Then you take off the protective clothing and realize that your hanger is not there, or someone has taken your hanger. Actual On the construction site, every step is difficult."

The welder said that the parking situation on the construction site is very chaotic, and the vehicle and traffic management are very annoying

The welder added that instead of introducing more With many workers in Taiwan, TSMC might as well solve these other problems.

He said: "We have never heard that we lack any skills or heard from their workers what kind of training we will receive."

pipe cutter said , he believes these workers may be able to help, but not because American workers lack skills or expertise.

He said: "TSMC claims they need skilled workers, but in fact what they really want is a lower-paid workforce. They want their employees to come here to work because they don't need to explain anything to these employees. thing. All they have to say is: 'Hey, you go build on that row!'"

He added: "We are not against migrant workers. We are against TSMC. TSMC is the problem."

The two workers said they continued to work because the pay was high enough, but they hoped to eventually find other jobs.

The pipe cutter said: "In terms of safety and quality, this is the worst job any of us have ever had. Everyone I know wants to get out of here as soon as possible."

Advertising statement: This article contains external jump links (including but not limited to hyperlinks, QR codes, passwords, etc.), which are intended to provide more information and save screening time, and are for reference only. Please note that all articles on this site contain this statement

The above is the detailed content of TSMC's U.S. factory delayed production and employees complained: It's because of your poor management. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!