Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co TSM plans to hire nearly 2,000 employees from Germany and other European countries through its subsidiary, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (ESMC), according to ESMC president Christian Koitzsch, the Taipei Times reports.

In 2024, the tech sector surpassed 2023’s layoff figures, with over 42,324 workers losing their jobs. This follows nearly 263,000 tech layoffs in 2023, continuing the industry’s trend of job cuts. Major companies, including Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google, Amazon.Com Inc AMZN, and Microsoft Corp MSFT, announced significant layoffs.

The rapid advancement in AI technology requires substantial investments in new technologies, prompting companies to reallocate resources and reduce their workforce.

In August 2023, TSMC announced a joint venture with Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG, and NXP Semiconductors NV NXPI to establish ESMC, with TSMC holding a 70% stake.

The joint venture plans to begin construction of a 12-inch wafer fab in Dresden in the second half of 2024, aiming for mass production by the end of 2027. The facility will use TSMC’s 12nm, 16nm, 22nm, and 28nm processes to produce automotive electronics and specialty industrial devices.

Koitzsch, who previously held roles at Bosch, will lead ESMC and oversee the training of employees in Taiwan.

The clean room will span about 45,000 square meters, and the plant will implement green technologies to reduce water and power consumption.

The key Nvidia Corp NVDA supplier outperformed its Chinese counterpart, Semiconductor Manufacturing International, forcing Chinese AI chip firms to downgrade designs to fulfill the U.S. embargo.

TSMC clocked a 30% sales growth, reaching $7.1 billion in May.

TSMC led with a 62% market share in the first quarter.

Taiwan Semiconductor stock gained 55% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the semiconductor sector via iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX and Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO.

Price Action: TSM shares were trading higher by 2.35% to $169.60 premarket at the last check on Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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