Nikkei: Semiconductor talent war heats up Samsung employees "pocket drum"

Source: Nikkei

Jiwei network news, in the long-term shortage of semiconductor engineers, major manufacturers talent war heating up, Samsung Electronics' strong profitability is making the world's largest chip manufacturer employees "pocket drums".

According to Nikkei Asia, Samsung Electronics issued a "service bonus" equivalent to three months' salary to all employees in the memory department in January, which played a central role in the company's chip revenue realization surpassing Intel in 2021.

Just a few weeks ago, Samsung also paid all employees a special bonus equivalent to two months' salary, plus a regular profit-linked bonus equivalent to half a year's salary, highlighting the fierce competition for talent in the industry.

According to an annual report by the Korea Securities and Futures Exchange, as of December 31, 2020, Samsung employed 109,490 employees in South Korea, with an average annual salary of 127 million won ($106,000). That's up 26 percent from five years ago, and that average could be higher given the strong earnings in 2021.

That number doesn't tell the whole story, as the chipmaker offers other generous perks. Employees can enjoy free breakfast, lunch and dinner in various canteens within the company, and most of the tuition fees for their children are borne by Samsung.

These policies are rooted in the late Lee Kun-hee, Samsung's longtime leader, in 2001's idea of compensation: performance should be rewarded through compensation. Samsung was one of the first Korean companies to introduce an employee-sharing system.

Top chipmakers are generous because of the chronic shortage of engineers. With global demand for semiconductors steadily rising, chipmakers are vying for talent that can develop new technologies or expand manufacturing facilities.

As gaming and internet companies such as Naver and Kakao become increasingly popular, the talent pool for science and engineering majors is shrinking further. Naver's average annual salary has grown in half in five years, reaching nearly $86,000 in 2020. Samsung, which has long topped south Korea's list of most popular places to work, has recently slipped in the rankings.

At this point in time, the South Korean government has recognized that semiconductor shortages are a serious risk to a core industry and has taken steps to nurture the development of more talent, such as encouraging leading universities to set up semiconductor courses. But efforts to train more qualified workers have failed to keep up with the rapid growth of the chip market.

Samsung offers special incentives to attract talented engineers and raise salaries to retain Chinese competitors as they poach them.

In contrast, Japan is the same. Although the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is committed to revitalizing the semiconductor industry, it has not yet formulated a long-term strategy for cultivating human resources. Large electrical equipment manufacturers pulled out of the chip business more than a decade ago, and there are fewer and fewer researchers in academia and the corporate world who are interested in the field, which has led to a shortage of engineers.

Moreover, the rigid compensation structure is not conducive to Japanese companies attracting the competitive talent they need. There is a lot to learn from Japan in Korea. (Proofreading/Hidden Drei)