Huawei trying to poach TSMC employees with 3X salary

It is not a secret that Huawei has been poaching employees, particularly in the semiconductor industry, from Taiwan in general — and from companies like TSMC in particular. As pressure on Huawei has increased in recent years, the company has intensified its hiring and is now offering unprecedented salaries, reportedly up to three times higher than those at TSMC, according to Le Monde. 

TSMC is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of chips with process technologies that are significantly more competitive than those offered by its rivals in terms of performance, power, transistor density, and yields. Obtaining TSMC’s trade secrets is seen as a way to accelerate research and development for many competitors, so the company employs rigorous methods to protect its intellectual property. 

For example, TSMC enforces strict project compartmentalization to ensure that no single employee has broad access to sensitive data. This approach aims to secure the company’s know-how. Thus, rivals like Huawei and SMIC have been attempting to poach as many TSMC employees as possible, hoping to acquire at least some of the foundry’s secrets. 

Taiwan’s Justice Investigation Bureau has increased scrutiny on firms recruiting local semiconductor talent and on those misrepresenting the roles they are hiring for. These companies, sometimes posing as data analytics firms, have been reportedly aiming to attract Taiwanese experts with salaries up to three times the local rate. Taiwan views this as a strategy by Chinese companies to extract trade secrets that are critical to semiconductor development. 

Both Huawei and SMIC are under pressure from the U.S., which is attempting to limit their access to advanced semiconductor equipment and technologies. Although they both still manage to obtain almost everything they need using proxies or third parties, hiring experienced personnel with actual experience at TSMC, UMC, or leading electronic design automation tool companies is a good way to accelerate their work. Therefore, companies like CXMT, Huawei, SMIC, and QXIC have been offering substantial compensation to those willing to join them. 

There is a catch, though: After someone leaves a major American or Taiwanese company to work at one of these China-based entities, they are unlikely to be able to return. One individual interviewed by Le Monde said that she never responded to recruiters acting on behalf of Huawei.