The cross-strait semiconductor competition is by no means a zero-sum game

With the continuous development of the mainland's semiconductor industry, Taiwan's semiconductor industry is gradually losing its previous leading advantages.

In recent years, more and more semiconductor manufacturers from Taiwan have come to the mainland to invest and set up factories. In addition, more companies engaged in the semiconductor industry have emerged in the mainland. With the continuous integration of factors such as capital and talent, the relationship between companies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait has become more complicated.

In the development of mainland China's semiconductor industry, the exchange of talents is crucial.

More than 100 TSMC employees were poached to the mainland

On August 12, a report from the Nikkei Asian Review stated that in 2019, more than 100 former TSMC engineers and managers were poached to the mainland. These former TSMC employees continued to engage in chip research and development and manufacturing projects in semiconductor companies in the mainland.

Regarding the incident of company employees being poached, TSMC officials stated that employees have always been TSMC's most important asset, and the company will be committed to retaining and cultivating talents and providing employees with a challenging and positive working environment and long-term career development.

The Nikkei Asian Review further stated that although two semiconductor manufacturers in Jinan and Wuhan are not well-known, the number of employees poached from TSMC has reached 50, including engineering and management-level personnel.

It is reported that these talents from TSMC will assist the company in developing 14nm and 12nm processes. However, Japanese media also reported that even the 14nm and 12nm process technology is two to three generations behind TSMC's current technology.

The booming semiconductor industry in China is attracting Taiwanese talent

In the process of developing the semiconductor industry, directly introducing talents from Taiwan, which has high-end semiconductor talents, is undoubtedly the best choice.

A report from Taiwan's Business Weekly stated that from 2015 to the end of 2019, more than 3,000 semiconductor technicians went from Taiwan to work in mainland companies. This figure is the same as the scale announced by the well-known think tank Taiwan Institute of Economics. The number of semiconductor talents going to the mainland for employment far exceeds the historical level for the same period.

According to statistics, there are currently about 40,000 technicians involved in semiconductor development in Taiwan, China, and the number of technicians who flowed to the mainland between 2015 and 2019 has reached nearly 10% of the total. The current speed of talent flow to the mainland is accelerating.

In terms of top core personnel, in addition to Zhang Rujing in the early days, there are also former TSMC COO Chiang Shangyi, research and development department executive Liang Mengsong, and even Gao Qiquan, known as the "Taiwan DRAM Godfather", joined the Tsinghua Unigroup in 2015.

The Nikkei Asian Review said that the best remuneration packages for these employees who go to work in mainland China can be two to two and a half times higher than what they received at TSMC. In addition, the desire to participate in large projects and improve their own value as technicians under the generous salary is also the original intention of almost all employees who switch jobs to mainland China.

If the semiconductor industry wants to achieve a rapid start, in addition to cutting-edge manufacturing equipment, core R&D talents and skilled technicians are indispensable. This is reflected in the fact that the talent introduction of mainland companies is no longer limited to senior executives, but also the introduction of front-line technicians of the entire team to achieve a leap in technology and mass production capabilities.

Optimal allocation of talent resources is the trend

Talent is an important factor in promoting industrial development, and the rise of almost all markets in history is related to this.

After the end of World War II, a large number of outstanding talents from Germany were attracted to the United States. These outstanding scientists, engineers and technicians made great contributions to the United States and were the driving force behind the rapid development of emerging technologies in the United States after the war.

Later, the development of Japan's semiconductor industry also had a great relationship with the United States. A large number of Japanese went to the United States to study, and more top American talents also went to work in Japanese companies.

In the 1980s and 1990s, due to the business failures of Japanese companies and external competition, many outstanding Japanese technical personnel flowed into overseas companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in South Korea and Taiwan, China.

Even though Taiwan is currently troubled by the outflow of talent to the mainland, there is no good solution. The continuous development of the global industry has proved that the market is the fundamental reason affecting the flow of talent. As the scale of the mainland's semiconductor industry gradually expands, the speed at which talent in Taiwan's semiconductor industry flows to the mainland will only be faster.

The cross-strait semiconductor competition is by no means a zero-sum game

One is the world's largest semiconductor market, and the other has cutting-edge semiconductor technology, but the competition between the two is not a zero-sum game at this stage.

Faced with the outflow of talent and the continuous expansion of the mainland's semiconductor industry, Morris Chang, the godfather of semiconductors and former chairman of TSMC, has repeatedly stated in previous interviews that the competition between the semiconductor industries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is not a zero-sum game.

Morris Chang said that the status of semiconductors in mainland China will continue to improve and its market share will continue to increase, but this does not mean that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry will gradually die out.

Morris Chang said that over the past few decades, the United States, Japan, and Europe have all lost a lot, and the United States has been in decline from the 1950s to the 1980s, but the United States has actually retained the most essential sectors that need the most innovation. Europe and Japan attach importance to manufacturing and are very concerned about yield issues, but in terms of in-bit processors, the United States is still a global leader, and the current semiconductor industry still cannot do without American technology.

The rise and fall of semiconductors on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is the same as the development process of global semiconductors. Even if Taiwan's semiconductor output and output value decrease in the future, it can still develop in the direction of innovation. The competition in semiconductors between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is by no means a zero-sum game.