GF and Intel semiconductor talent forgo are gifts to competitors, says DigiTimes
Intel is offering voluntary unpaid leave for thousands of employees while GlobalFoundries (GF) is laying off 6% of its global workforce to reduce short-term costs amid an industry down cycle. They are probably doing competitors such as TSMC, Samsung, UMC, and Foxconn a favor.
Financial Times reported that Intel offers 3 months of voluntary unpaid programs in Ireland, but Intel said the program is available at its facilities worldwide, according to OregonLive.com. Tom’s Hardware and CRN reported that GF aims to lay off 800 people globally, which are mostly non-manufacturing positions but may include people at the managerial level.
Besides Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which still has more than 300 positions to fill, while United Microelectronics is hiring for its Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan fabs, Samsung is also hiring for its semiconductor facilities in Austin, Texas.
Another company that is aggressively expanding is Hon Young Semiconductor (HYS), Foxconn’s Semiconductor arm, which has just hired Chiang Shang-Yi as its chief strategy officer. Chiang had worked in China over the past few years after his retirement from TSMC but has returned to Taiwan.
“Currently Foxconn’s Semiconductor Division has 5,000 people and adding, especially in Malaysia and India,” according to an industry expert familiar with the details. “In 5 years, the company will hire big numbers (of people).”
