These stories highlight the challenges American workers face when dealing with foreign companies setting up operations in the United States. We are talking about cultural differences, racism, overtime, non-payment of wages and commissions, and the creation of a hostile work environment.
Worker Conflicts
TSMC Arizona Plant
TSMC, the world's largest chip maker, has brought its Asian work culture. American engineers sent to Taiwan for training were shocked by the 12-hour workday, high work intensity and harsh management attitude. Upon returning to Arizona, they discovered that similar conditions had spread to the new TSMC plants. Taiwanese managers yelled at employees and assigned unskilled work to engineers. The conflict between the Taiwanese, who were accustomed to such treatment, and the Americans, who complained about the practice, led to a tense atmosphere.
EKWB's Racist Practices
At EKWB, a Slovenian water-cooled PC company, There was a toxic atmosphere of racism and abuse. Slovenian managers humiliated American employees, calling them lazy and stupid, and blaming them for inventory problems. There were racist jokes and food comparisons directed at African Americans. Employees complained about unpaid overtime, threats of lawsuits, and dangerous working conditions. The former manager alleged that he created a racially hostile environment.
Glossary
- TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) - Taiwanese company, the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductor products.
- EKWB (Edvard Konig Water Blocks) is a Slovenian company, a manufacturer of computer components, specializing in water cooling systems.
- Edward Konig is the founder of EKWB.
- Dan Henderson is the former Business and Product Development Manager at EKWB.
- Jemari Serrati is a former Regional Sales Manager for EKWB.
Links
Answers to questions
What problems are TSMC and EKWB blamed for?
What complaints do American workers have about TSMC?
What problems did former EKWB employees in the US have?
What specific examples of racism do former EKWB employees give?
How did TSMC and EKWB respond to the allegations?
Hashtags
Save a link to this article
Discussion of the topic – The Dark Side of the American Dream: Racism, Exploitation and Deception at TSMC and EKWB Factories
American workers at TSMC and EKWB plants in Slovenia faced racism, rudeness, overtime, underpayment and false accusations from Asian and Eastern European companies.
Latest comments
8 comments
Write a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are checked *
Иван
Indeed, it appears that American workers faced serious problems when forced to work with Taiwanese colleagues at TSMC factories. Work culture in Asia is very different from American standards 🤯
Анна
Yeah, 12-hour days and working on weekends is brutal! This is simply unacceptable in America. I wonder how they will solve this problem at the new TSMC factories? 🤔
Ганс
Not surprisingly, many Americans quit their jobs after interning in Taiwan. This management style is a complete nightmare for them! But Asian companies are unlikely to change their long-standing culture for the sake of a few plants in the US 😕
Стефан
I think there's a clash of two very different work ethic here. The Taiwanese are accustomed to harsh conditions and authoritarian leadership. Americans, on the contrary, value work-life balance and respect for employees. It's difficult for them to find a common language 🤷♂️
Джордж
Eh, capitalism... For the sake of profit, many companies are ready to exploit their workers to the fullest! In this case, we see how the Asian approach with long overtime and harsh discipline migrated to the USA 😒 Depressing...
Стефан
Perhaps, but for TSMC it is more important to meet construction deadlines and receive government support of $6.6 billion under the CHIPS program. So we have to use proven Asian methods at new factories 💲
Иван
By the way, the Slovenian company EKWB, which also opened a plant in the USA, has similar problems. Americans complain about racism, rudeness and underpayments from management 🤨
Бруно
Phew, what a nightmare! 😣 Apparently, these companies have completely lost their humanity if they treat their employees so horribly. I hope that labor unions and US authorities will take action against such violations of workers' rights. This is unacceptable in a civilized country! 😤