TSMC declines to comment on U.S. discriminatory hiring lawsuit

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Thursday it would not comment on any pending legal action after more than a dozen current and former U.S. employees filed a class action lawsuit accusing the chipmaker of discriminatory hiring practices.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed TSMC's employment practices include an "intentional pattern and practice of employment discrimination against individuals who are not of East Asian race, not of Taiwanese or Chinese national origin, and who are not citizens of Taiwan or China, including discrimination in hiring, staffing, promotion, and retention/termination decisions."

While declining to comment on the lawsuit, TSMC did say that recruitment and promotion in the company did not take into account factors such as nationality and race.

"TSMC believes strongly in the value of a diverse workforce and we hire and promote without regard to gender, religion, race, nationality, or political affiliation because we respect differences, and believe that equal employment opportunities strengthen our competitiveness," the company said.

"We also provide various channels for employees to raise concerns, and strive to address concerns constructively," the chipmaker said.

In Arizona, TSMC is building two advanced fabs with the first scheduled to start mass production in early 2025, using the sophisticated 4 nanometer process, while the second is slated to mass produce wafers using the 3 nm and 2 nm processes in 2028 to tap into solid demand for artificial intelligence applications.

The 3 nm process is the latest technology the company began commercial production.

TSMC has announced a plan to build a third fab in Arizona using the 2 nm process or more advanced technology with production slated to start by the end of 2030, boosting its total investment in Arizona to top US$65 billion.

TSMC's first fab entered engineering wafer production in April.

In October, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said the outcome of the engineering wafer production at the first fab was "highly satisfactory, with a very good yield.

"This is an important operational milestone for TSMC and our customers, demonstrating the company's strong manufacturing capability and execution," Wei said.