TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said on Saturday (March 4) that it is looking to add 6,000 more employees in 2023.

TSMC said it is looking for young engineers with associates, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degrees in electrical engineering or software-related fields in all cities around Taiwan, according to Reuters. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said that the average overall pay for a new engineer with a master’s degree starts at NT$2 million (US$65,425), the report added.

The hiring push comes amid a global slowdown in the semiconductor sector. A reduction in the overall demand for consumer electronics has led to a glut of chips at some companies, after years of shortages during the pandemic.

The Taiwanese chipmaker, however, has so far been able to avoid most of the downturn affecting the rest of the sector due to its dominance in the high-end chip segment. The company had 61,777 employees registered for 2022, a year-on-year increase of 7,584 workers.

TSMC employees were paid an average NT$3.175 million in salary in 2022, up 28.91% from a year earlier. The company said the demand for high-performance computing devices and automotive electronics chips also helped drive sales last year.