Taiwan Semiconductor workers to return to Ariz. after overseas training

Construction of the massive Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. complex in north Phoenix has drawn attention the past few years, highlighted by a visit from President Joe Biden in early December, when the company said it would triple its Arizona investment to $40 billion.

But the site’s human element also is taking shape.

The giant maker of semiconductors is nearly finished with the first major phase of overseas training of engineers and other American employees. Most of those more than 600 employees spent or will have spent one to two years learning advanced manufacturing processes at TSMC plants in Taiwan, said Rick Cassidy, CEO of TSMC Arizona.

That’s nearly one-third of the roughly 2,000 employees who will work at the two fabs near 43rd Avenue and Dove Valley Road. Some of those workers are Taiwan citizens on assignment in Arizona for one to three years, he added.

Semiconductors, also known as microchips, are the tiny brains that power all sorts of electrical devices found in appliances, cars, cellphones, computers, medical equipment, military hardware and much more.

Some of the trainees who will work at the new TSMC plant got off a plane that landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday. Each of those company-chartered flights has brought back about 300 people at a time — American workers, some Taiwanese employees and family members of both groups.

Among others, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego was there to greet them. “It’s a huge commitment to train so many people overseas,” she said. “We want to make sure the TSMC employees feel welcome.”

The first phase of training of Americans in Taiwan is close to wrapping up. Some who went through it described a challenging and rigorous process with long hours.

But they also called it a rewarding experience where visitors were able to sightsee and sample the country’s food and culture.

“Learning about leading-edge technology is itself challenging,” said Martin Eseverri, an engineer who installs and maintains equipment. Training in another country, where workers mainly speak another language and adhere to different customs, makes it more difficult, he added.

While training is conducted in English, many of the Taiwanese engineers weren’t entirely fluent, which made for occasional misunderstandings. “You need to practice patience day in and day out,” he said.

Still, Eseverri described his fellow TSMC employees as hardworking, flexible and cooperative.

“I had a blast,” he said of his 18 months of training in Taiwan, which wrapped up late last year. “I was surprised how welcoming the Taiwanese are to Westerners.”

Mino Morgese, a TSMC manager of chemical-mechanical planarization, echoed that sentiment and said that he, his wife and three young children felt welcome in Taiwan, where the company helped them find housing and schooling.

Morgese said he didn’t notice any friction between TSMC’s American and Taiwanese workers but also noted that the industry isn’t for everyone. A recent New York Times article, mostly quoting anonymous sources, indicated that some of the company’s Taiwanese workers expressed concern about having to pick up the slack for American colleagues.

“It’s high pressure,” Morgese said. “The technology is changing all the time, and you’re problem-solving every day.”

He works in the process where silicon wafers are flattened and polished.

“You either like it or you don’t,” he said of the industry.

In addition to training many of its American employees in Taiwan, Cassidy said TSMC is working to develop a long-term employment pipeline with the engineering school at Arizona State University as well as the Maricopa County Community College District, which is providing technicians.

The better the education here, with curriculum provided in part by TSMC, the less training that needs to happen in Taiwan, Cassidy said.