Dutch chipmaking equipment supplier ASML Holding NV is planning to offer NT$1.6 million (US$51,331) or more in starting annual pay to engineers with a master’s degree at its sites in Taiwan.

The major supplier to contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said it is keen to offer competitive compensation comprised of salaries, bonuses and other financial incentives as it seeks to expand its talent pool in Taiwan.

The company, which is planning to build a plant in New Taipei City, said engineers would in their first year be granted 10 days annual leave, compared with the minimum of three days per six months stipulated in the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).

Starting from next year, ASML’s female employees would also get 14 weeks of maternity leave and male employees 10 days of paternity leave, compared with a legal minimum of eight weeks and seven days respectively.

Amanda Ho (何思穎), chief financial officer of ASML’s Taiwanese and Southeast Asian operations, said that 35 percent of the firm’s local employees have no engineering, science, technology or mathematics-related degrees.

ASML is committed to helping those workers build their careers, she said.

In-house training programs would run six to 18 months, the company said, adding that it spends more than NT$5 million on training each new engineer.

The recruitment campaign is in line with the company’s new investment project announced earlier last week to build a new production complex in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) to better serve its clients in Taiwan.

The New Taipei City Government said that the first phase of ASML’s investment is expected to total NT$30 billion, the company’s largest investment plan in Taiwan to date, with a campaign to hire 2,000 workers for the Linkou campus, which is to include production lines, offices, a research and development center, and logistics and warehousing operations.

ASML is the world’s sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines used by semiconductor manufacturers to produce cutting-edge chips.

In addition to TSMC, the company’s other prominent clients include Taoyuan-headquartered DRAM maker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) and US-based Micron Technology Inc, which are planning to install EUV photolithography machines.

The Veldhoven, Netherlands-headquartered company has 60 operation hubs in 16 countries, with Taiwan as its largest hub in Asia.

In Taiwan, ASML has four client support centers, two research-and-development centers and two training centers, with its workforce expected to expand to 4,500 by the end of this year.
 

• Link: Taipei Times