TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is reportedly embarking on a “structural pay raise” scheme that involves a record 20-percent wage hike next year.
The chipmaker will soon announce the measure in a bid to retain and attract talent. TSMC has customarily given 3 to 5-percent pay raises annually over the past five years, but it has not implemented substantial wage increases on a large scale for over a decade, according to Liberty Times.
However, bonuses for employees are likely to be curtailed, meaning workers’ annual income may not see a significant change.
For a college graduate whose starting salary was NT$38,000 (US$1,332) per month, the raise will bring it to as high as NT$45,600. For those with a master’s degree, the starting salary could be hiked from NT$45,000 to NT$54,000.
According to the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) report for 2019, the median annual salary was NT$1.63 million, excluding bonuses and pensions. Last year, engineers with a master’s degree received an income equivalent to 31 months' pay, including a year-end bonus equal to two months' pay and a cash reward equal to 17 months of wages. Ordinary employees were entitled to an average of 26 months' pay in 2019.
The semiconductor manufacturer reported NT$977.7 billion in revenue in the first nine months of this year, posting year-on-year growth of 29.9 percent. It has undertaken an unprecedented hiring drive and has sought to recruit 8,000 employees this year.