--- title: "After Compensation Controversy, TSMC CEO Steps In to \"Soothe\" Employees: Promises Average Bonus Increase of Over 30%" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/287774279.md" description: "The AI boom has driven TSMC's profits to record highs, but it has also sparked controversy among employees regarding bonus distribution. Amid rumors of shrinking bonuses and calls for unionization, C.C. Wei promised that the average increase in employee profit-sharing bonuses this year would exceed 30%. However, under the pressure of global large-scale expansion and capital expenditure, the potential bonus gap between TSMC employees and their peers at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix is bringing the contradictions in benefit distribution in the AI era to the surface" datetime: "2026-05-27T12:51:57.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/287774279.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287774279.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/287774279.md) --- # After Compensation Controversy, TSMC CEO Steps In to "Soothe" Employees: Promises Average Bonus Increase of Over 30% TSMC CEO C.C. Wei promised employees that **the average increase in profit-sharing bonuses this year will exceed 30%, higher than last year's increase**. This statement came after employees publicly expressed dissatisfaction with rumors of bonus cuts, reflecting the intensifying conflict over benefit distribution between tech giants and workers during the AI prosperity cycle. On Wednesday, Bloomberg cited an insider reporting that Wei made the above promise at an internal staff meeting on Wednesday. The source requested anonymity because the event was internal. TSMC only confirmed that an internal staff meeting was held and stated in a previous announcement that **the full-year growth rate of employee profit-sharing bonuses in 2026 is expected to exceed that of 2025.** The backdrop to this statement is that TSMC employees recently posted anonymously on online forums, questioning whether the quarterly bonus increases were reasonable. Some employees even openly discussed the possibility of forming a union or launching a strike. Meanwhile, the Samsung Electronics union had just reached a ten-year compensation agreement, providing a direct reference for the dissatisfaction among TSMC employees. ## Record-High Profits, Yet Bonus Rumors Point to Shrinking Payouts TSMC's net profit in the first quarter of 2025 reached NT$572.5 billion (approximately $18.2 billion), a year-on-year increase of 58%, continuing to benefit from the demand for advanced processes driven by global AI infrastructure investment. However, the impressive performance did not quell the internal compensation controversy; instead, it formed a stark contrast with rumors of shrinking bonuses. According to DigiTimes, news that TSMC planned to cut performance bonuses by about 15% spread rapidly among employees. Employees had previously generally expected the company to use about 13% of retained earnings for bonus distributions, but this practice was reportedly shaken. Based on 2025 performance, the average bonus for TSMC employees was approximately NT$2.64 million (about $87,000), with the total bonus pool reaching about NT$206.1 billion. Analysts believe the most likely reason for the pressure on bonuses points to TSMC's unprecedented scale of capital expenditure. TSMC currently spends between $52 billion and $56 billion annually on capital expenditures and is simultaneously building 12 new fabs in the United States, Japan, Germany, and other locations to consolidate its technological leadership in the 2nm and 1.4nm process nodes. Large-scale expansion continues to drain cash flow, directly compressing the funds available for employee compensation distribution. ## Samsung and SK Hynix Agreements Become Benchmarks, Pressure Spreads to Taiwan What further heated the emotions of TSMC employees was a series of compensation agreements from their Korean competitors. On May 27, the Samsung Electronics union approved a ten-year plan with 73.7% support. Approximately 78,000 employees in the semiconductor division will receive 10.5% of the company's operating profit as stock bonuses annually, plus a 1.5% cash reward. Samsung had previously faced an 18-day work stoppage when the union rejected a one-time bonus plan. According to KB Securities' forecast, if Samsung's operating profit reaches 327 trillion won (approximately $217 billion) in 2026, the average bonus per employee in the memory chip division is expected to be about 600 million won (approximately $400,000). Regarding SK Hynix, the agreement reached in September 2024 abolished the cap that "profit-sharing bonuses would not exceed 10 months of basic salary," changing it to include 10% of annual operating profit in the bonus pool. According to Macquarie Securities' estimates, if SK Hynix's operating profit reaches 447 trillion won in 2027, with 35,000 employees, the average bonus per person could reach approximately 1.29 billion won. In comparison, TSMC's average bonus per person in 2025 was about $87,000. The significant gap with the potential levels of its Korean peers has become an important catalyst for employee dissatisfaction. ## Limited Channels for Employee Rights Protection Without a Union Mechanism Since its founding in 1987, TSMC has never established a union, leaving employees without a formal collective bargaining mechanism, in sharp contrast to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. This institutional void means that current dissatisfaction can only be vented through informal channels. Employee complaints have spread to workplace community platforms like Dcard and several TSMC-specific Facebook groups. Topics range from the legal feasibility of forming a union to whether the company prioritizes shareholder returns and overseas expansion over the interests of local employees. Some employees chose to voice their concerns collectively before TSMC's annual general meeting on May 28, raising the possibility of the conflict becoming more public. Doris Hsu, Chairman of GlobalWafers, a silicon wafer manufacturer, commented on this, stating that the key to determining corporate performance lies not in the existence of a union, but in whether the company shares profits with its employees. ## Historical Growth of the Bonus Pool and C.C. Wei's Promise Historical data shows that the growth rate of TSMC's overall employee profit-sharing bonus pool has largely kept pace with the company's net profit growth. In 2025, the company allocated approximately NT$103 billion to this program, a 46.6% increase from the previous year. TSMC's articles of incorporation commit to using no less than 1% of annual profits for employee incentive plans each year. The over 30% increase promised by Wei this time is higher than last year's increase but still lower than the company's net profit growth rate. TSMC's gross margin has risen to 66% this year, and its first-quarter net profit has more than doubled compared to the same period two years ago. The continued explosion in AI demand has significantly boosted the company's profitability. During his more than ten years leading TSMC, Wei has consistently emphasized stability and long-term thinking. His proactive response to the compensation controversy at the staff meeting indicates that even this global leader in the chip industry cannot avoid the public pressure regarding the distribution of AI dividends. ### Related Stocks - [SSNGY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SSNGY.US.md) - [TSM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSM.US.md) - [SMSN.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMSN.UK.md) - [SMH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMH.US.md) - [FTXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FTXL.US.md) - [PSI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PSI.US.md) - [SMH.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMH.UK.md) - [SOXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXL.US.md) - [SOXX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXX.US.md) - [XSD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XSD.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [TSMC might raise bonuses more than 30%, source says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287797216.md) - [What Investors Need to Know About TSMC's Hefty 17% Dividend Increase](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287770232.md) - [Samsung staff secure £300,000 bonuses on AI boom](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287767502.md) - [Samsung workers approve record bonus deal, avoid strike](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287820513.md) - [Samsung chip employees to get average $338,000 bonus under strike deal](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287214423.md)