Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing giant Taiwan Electric Power (TSMC) recently faced a collective lawsuit in the United States, with more than 30 current and former employees accusing the company of racial discrimination, unsafe working environment and other inappropriate behavior at its Fab 21 factory in Arizona. The expansion of the lawsuit reveals the company's work culture and management issues in the United States.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff accused the Taiwan System of favoring Taiwanese and Chinese employees and discriminating and stinging American employees. Many non-Asian employees report that they are often insulted and labeled as incompetent and unwilling to work. Former senior technician Phillip Sterbinsky said he was insulted by his manager and eventually became the last non-Asian employee in his department, with a job title in 2024.

The complaint also mentioned that Taiwanese employees publicly expressed racial disparities, and Stubsky recalled that his colleagues called blacks lazy and strange. In addition, the plaintiff described a rubber chicken hanging on the desk of a black colleague at work and was seen as humiliating the colleague.

The plaintiff also pointed out that Taiwan Electric will speak Chinese and exclude employees who do not understand Chinese. Even if some positions do not need to be Chinese, recruitment advertising is still listed as a priority for abilities. Taiwanese managers often use "Chinese-English mixed language" to prevent American colleagues from hearing what they say.

In addition, the complaint also accused the Taiwan Power Taiwan Human Resources Group of introducing pre-approved Taiwanese climate candidates to the US branch, allowing the company to attract more foreign employees and reduce the US Employees' Association positions. I believe that about half of Fab's 21 employees are from Taiwan.

Although Taiwan Power does not comment, it expressed its belief in the importance of a diversified work environment and emphasized that recruitment and promotion processes do not consider gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality or political position.

Plaintiff Marcus Hernandez reported on Fab 21 multiple safety violations and described the manager squeezing him to start the chemical system without wearing a suitable protective equipment. The complaint also mentioned that Telco even tried to buy safety belts online instead of getting them from a reliable supplier.

In addition, complaints about work culture also include long hours of work, frequent weekends of overtime and production pressure. Employees described the work environment as being too harsh, with insufficient training and continuous pressure leading to high churn rate. Taiwan administrators often criticize American employees for their "lazyness", "not working hard" and "insufficient knowledge".

When asked why American employees were replaced by Taiwanese employees, the NTU High-level Human Resources General Supervisor explained that NTU is an Asian company. Former chairman Liu Deyin also said that American employees do not have to follow Taiwan’s strict work rules, implying that their working conditions are more relaxed.

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