The rapid expansion of AI is driving a surge in global semiconductor demand—from advanced packaging such as CoWoS to high-performance memory—pushing chipmakers across Taiwan, South Korea, and mainland China to sharply increase salaries in a fierce battle for engineering talent.

Financial Times reports that leading companies including TSMC and SK Hynix have significantly raised compensation to secure skilled workers.

TSMC Pay Up 45%, SK Hynix Offers 15 Months' Bonus

TSMC's average employee pay has risen nearly 45% in five years, climbing from NT$2.14 million in 2019 to NT$3.57 million in 2024. The company uses stock grants, profit-sharing, and bonuses to retain engineers and fend off recruitment attempts from mainland China and overseas rivals.

In South Korea, SK Hynix scrapped its profit-sharing cap and awarded employees bonuses worth up to 15 months of base salary—a rare move among major Korean conglomerates. A Korean survey this year shows SK Hynix has surpassed Samsung as the most desirable employer for new graduates, largely due to pay.

Mainland China, accelerating efforts to build its semiconductor sector, is offering extremely high salaries to recruit international talent. Reports say some senior Taiwanese engineers have received offers dozens of times higher than local pay, including one LED executive offered RMB 20 million annually.

AI Boom Exposes Global Talent Shortage

The aggressive pay hikes highlight a widening talent gap. McKinsey estimates global semiconductor investment will approach US$1 trillion from 2023 to 2030, with the Asia-Pacific region facing a shortage of more than 200,000 engineers.

The situation is worsened as countries build local chip fabs. TSMC has dispatched more than a thousand engineers to support its Arizona fab, reducing domestic workforce supply. Low birth rates in Taiwan and South Korea further strain the labor pool, with analysts expecting working-age populations to shrink by about 1% annually over the next decade.

High Pay Is Only a Temporary Fix

Although generous compensation may slow talent outflow, analysts warn it cannot fundamentally resolve the shortage. With new fabs underway across the U.S. and Europe and AI reshaping global demand, competition for semiconductor talent is expected to intensify, making workforce retention a top challenge for chipmakers in Asia.