Dr. Morris Chang

But we almost never really fired people even after the probation period.

But we almost never really fired people even after the probation period.

That's right, yeah. And I actually have told the managers that. And well, in 2008, Of course, there was a financial crisis. And the semiconductor business, in fact, got affected. And our revenue dropped. Our business dropped pretty seriously. I was not a CEO. I was the chairman. But I just knew that anyone...

That's right, yeah. And I actually have told the managers that. And well, in 2008, Of course, there was a financial crisis. And the semiconductor business, in fact, got affected. And our revenue dropped. Our business dropped pretty seriously. I was not a CEO. I was the chairman. But I just knew that anyone...

Any general manager, any CEO, general manager, without very much experience, what he or she would do in a situation like that. It's kind of a knee-jerk kind of reaction. Oh, he says, oh, this is my test. I got to save all the money possible. And I got to, you know, lay off people, you know.

Any general manager, any CEO, general manager, without very much experience, what he or she would do in a situation like that. It's kind of a knee-jerk kind of reaction. Oh, he says, oh, this is my test. I got to save all the money possible. And I got to, you know, lay off people, you know.

Well, I know, I know. Well, semiconductor industry. But semiconductor industry people actually think the same way as I described, you know what I mean? They all lay off. They all lay off people, too. I had a lot of experience at Texas Instruments Center. But at Texas Instruments, I was not a CEO. I was just one of the top managers under the CEO level.

Well, I know, I know. Well, semiconductor industry. But semiconductor industry people actually think the same way as I described, you know what I mean? They all lay off. They all lay off people, too. I had a lot of experience at Texas Instruments Center. But at Texas Instruments, I was not a CEO. I was just one of the top managers under the CEO level.

And when the company decided to have a layoff, the CEO conferred with the top managers, who included me. And their first reaction was exactly the same. And I'm talking about the company early 70s, their first reaction on who to lay off was exactly the same as what our TSM CCO did in late 2008, 2009, which was, you know, go by performance. Well, now I was the only one at Texas Instruments

And when the company decided to have a layoff, the CEO conferred with the top managers, who included me. And their first reaction was exactly the same. And I'm talking about the company early 70s, their first reaction on who to lay off was exactly the same as what our TSM CCO did in late 2008, 2009, which was, you know, go by performance. Well, now I was the only one at Texas Instruments

in the early 70s that said, no, that would not be a credible way of doing it. People would not respect us if we lay off by performance ratings. And why is that? Because it's very subjective. Performance reviews... The performance ratings are done by everyone's own supervisor. So 700 worst performing people in the company. And who gave the 700 people the bad ratings? 700 supervisors, you know.

in the early 70s that said, no, that would not be a credible way of doing it. People would not respect us if we lay off by performance ratings. And why is that? Because it's very subjective. Performance reviews... The performance ratings are done by everyone's own supervisor. So 700 worst performing people in the company. And who gave the 700 people the bad ratings? 700 supervisors, you know.

Very subjective. It's not something that people will respect. If in a year you have to hire people back and you have to hire the laid off people back, then you shouldn't lay off. Because the lay off, the separation expense is usually half a year, about half a year. And it takes at least half a year to train a person. So if you need the people back, Within a year, you shouldn't lay off.

Very subjective. It's not something that people will respect. If in a year you have to hire people back and you have to hire the laid off people back, then you shouldn't lay off. Because the lay off, the separation expense is usually half a year, about half a year. And it takes at least half a year to train a person. So if you need the people back, Within a year, you shouldn't lay off.

You mean customer issue being NVIDIA? Yeah. Well, to finish the employment issue, they laid off employees. As I said, there were 700 of them, 600 or 700 of them. came to my home to demonstrate and protest. Now, the company, TSMC, was pre-warned that hundreds of people would appear in front of my home. So they notified the police department in my district. So the police department said,

You mean customer issue being NVIDIA? Yeah. Well, to finish the employment issue, they laid off employees. As I said, there were 700 of them, 600 or 700 of them. came to my home to demonstrate and protest. Now, the company, TSMC, was pre-warned that hundreds of people would appear in front of my home. So they notified the police department in my district. So the police department said,

50, 60 police officers to try to maintain the order. Now, more than 100 protesters appeared. And the neighbors, my neighbors, you know, they had trouble getting in and out. That was only the first time. A month or so later, the problem was still not solved. I was still not the CEO. So they appeared again. Some were protesters.

50, 60 police officers to try to maintain the order. Now, more than 100 protesters appeared. And the neighbors, my neighbors, you know, they had trouble getting in and out. That was only the first time. A month or so later, the problem was still not solved. I was still not the CEO. So they appeared again. Some were protesters.

About 25 of them decided to spend the night, sleep over in the little park that's about a block away from my home. My wife literally didn't sleep that night, you know. She would wake up and went over to that window to take a look to see what was going on. But then, very early the next morning, my wife, six o'clock the next morning, my wife, you know, got up and she took one of the

About 25 of them decided to spend the night, sleep over in the little park that's about a block away from my home. My wife literally didn't sleep that night, you know. She would wake up and went over to that window to take a look to see what was going on. But then, very early the next morning, my wife, six o'clock the next morning, my wife, you know, got up and she took one of the