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It's not open, but many of the new engineers are currently training in Taiwan. The engineer in question is simply seeing what his TSMC counterparts are doing.

It's not open, but many of the new engineers are currently training in Taiwan. The engineer in question is simply seeing what his TSMC counterparts are doing. The Taiwanese culture is very hard working and that is why TSMC is ahead of Intel and Samsung now. You are correct though, there won't be an issue because this hard work atmosphere will weed out the weak and breed the strong.

emodendroket 5y ago
This seems like total nonsense. Korea's work culture is not exactly Scandinavia and even the US is tough by the standards of other high-income countries. Plus, like, how did Dutch ASML get ahead, did they get some sort of special dispensation?
- j_walter 5y ago
  They cornered the market...they literally have a monopoly and it's impossible to compete against at this point. AMAT is also impossible to compete against despite how shitty they are because they just buy competitors and make them shitty to. If you have seen how TSMC works on the inside you would understand the culture and the drive to succeed. They don't care about political correctness, they could care less about having a diversity program...they want the best person for the job. They hired a former Intel HR director for the AZ plant and the first thing he asked was about their diversity program...after multiple issues with him he is no longer at TSMC AZ.
  - emodendroket 5y ago
    I doubt Samsung has much of a diversity operation in Korea either. I am rather incredulous that those positions (which, frankly, do not actually have that much influence on the running of the business day-to-day) make that much of a difference to the success of one company or another.
    - j_walter 5y ago
      You would be surprised how much impact a poorly directed HR department can have...not just on new hires but on senior people as well.
  - JaimeThompson 5y ago
    "They hired a former Intel HR director for the AZ plant and the first thing he asked was about their diversity program" Do you have a source for that?
    - mrkstu 5y ago
      Found this[0] link showing the hiring at least: "TSMC this year hired Benjamin Miller, a 25-year Intel veteran, as its head of human resources in Arizona." [0] https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-tsmc-looks-double-down-us-chip-factories-talks-europe-falter-2021-05-14/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-tsmc-looks-doub...
    - j_walter 5y ago
      I've spoken directly with the person he said that to.
atty 5y ago
What? No. The reason they got ahead was because their business model got them volume production on a scale that let them tweak and improve their process faster and more efficiently compared to the competition. And Intel shooting themselves in the foot and skipping EUV for their last few nodes was a big factor too. Also, suggesting people are “weak” or “strong” based on the number of hours they’re willing/able to work is… problematic at best.
- analognoise 5y ago
  Because we're all done with that "grind culture" bullshit, 100%, and we're finally calling it out for what it is.
  - chrisjc 5y ago
    Who's "we're"? There will always be those willing to embrace the "grind culture". Whether it's new grads eager for experience, those that have experienced life without opportunity and "freedom" or just those desperate to make ends meet.
    - analognoise 5y ago
      See? It's out in the open now. Hustle culture exploits the young, the economically disadvantaged, and the desperate. It's basically poison, and there are enough people finally saying the quiet part out loud. I guess "we" is whoever doesn't believe in exploiting the young, economically disadvantaged, or desperate. I guess some people love exploiting vulnerable groups though, you're right. I just assumed nobody would want to be associated with that kinda toxicity.
    - j_walter 5y ago
      Exactly this...there are always those willing to work their ass off to succeed. Those who are willing to do so get rewarded...but finding out who those people are takes time and generally that's not something you can see on a resume. The engineer in this story may not fit the bill...
deepnotderp 5y ago
Given that Intel had undisputed process leadership until 10nm it seems that the "Taiwanese work culture advantage" works in mysterious ways.
- necovek 5y ago
  It's not mysterious at all: since they are shorter on average and thus have smaller hands, their work culture advantage only appeared at processes smaller than 10nm!
Bahamut 5y ago
Samsung (and Korean companies in general) isn't exactly known for work-life balance either (source: uncle was an exec and a sibling was a senior engineer there).

emodendroket 5y ago

This seems like total nonsense. Korea's work culture is not exactly Scandinavia and even the US is tough by the standards of other high-income countries. Plus, like, how did Dutch ASML get ahead, did they get some sort of special dispensation?

j_walter 5y ago
They cornered the market...they literally have a monopoly and it's impossible to compete against at this point. AMAT is also impossible to compete against despite how shitty they are because they just buy competitors and make them shitty to. If you have seen how TSMC works on the inside you would understand the culture and the drive to succeed. They don't care about political correctness, they could care less about having a diversity program...they want the best person for the job. They hired a former Intel HR director for the AZ plant and the first thing he asked was about their diversity program...after multiple issues with him he is no longer at TSMC AZ.
- emodendroket 5y ago
  I doubt Samsung has much of a diversity operation in Korea either. I am rather incredulous that those positions (which, frankly, do not actually have that much influence on the running of the business day-to-day) make that much of a difference to the success of one company or another.
  - j_walter 5y ago
    You would be surprised how much impact a poorly directed HR department can have...not just on new hires but on senior people as well.
- JaimeThompson 5y ago
  "They hired a former Intel HR director for the AZ plant and the first thing he asked was about their diversity program" Do you have a source for that?
  - mrkstu 5y ago
    Found this[0] link showing the hiring at least: "TSMC this year hired Benjamin Miller, a 25-year Intel veteran, as its head of human resources in Arizona." [0] https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-tsmc-looks-double-down-us-chip-factories-talks-europe-falter-2021-05-14/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-tsmc-looks-doub...
  - j_walter 5y ago
    I've spoken directly with the person he said that to.

atty 5y ago

What? No. The reason they got ahead was because their business model got them volume production on a scale that let them tweak and improve their process faster and more efficiently compared to the competition. And Intel shooting themselves in the foot and skipping EUV for their last few nodes was a big factor too. Also, suggesting people are “weak” or “strong” based on the number of hours they’re willing/able to work is… problematic at best.

analognoise 5y ago
Because we're all done with that "grind culture" bullshit, 100%, and we're finally calling it out for what it is.
- chrisjc 5y ago
  Who's "we're"? There will always be those willing to embrace the "grind culture". Whether it's new grads eager for experience, those that have experienced life without opportunity and "freedom" or just those desperate to make ends meet.
  - analognoise 5y ago
    See? It's out in the open now. Hustle culture exploits the young, the economically disadvantaged, and the desperate. It's basically poison, and there are enough people finally saying the quiet part out loud. I guess "we" is whoever doesn't believe in exploiting the young, economically disadvantaged, or desperate. I guess some people love exploiting vulnerable groups though, you're right. I just assumed nobody would want to be associated with that kinda toxicity.
  - j_walter 5y ago
    Exactly this...there are always those willing to work their ass off to succeed. Those who are willing to do so get rewarded...but finding out who those people are takes time and generally that's not something you can see on a resume. The engineer in this story may not fit the bill...

deepnotderp 5y ago

Given that Intel had undisputed process leadership until 10nm it seems that the "Taiwanese work culture advantage" works in mysterious ways.

necovek 5y ago
It's not mysterious at all: since they are shorter on average and thus have smaller hands, their work culture advantage only appeared at processes smaller than 10nm!

Bahamut 5y ago

Samsung (and Korean companies in general) isn't exactly known for work-life balance either (source: uncle was an exec and a sibling was a senior engineer there).