TSMC's 2026 salary adjustment plan has been unveiled: general employees receive an average raise of 3%-5%, while senior engineers (grade 33-34 and above) with an S+ rating can get up to 9%. The total employee bonus for 2025 reached NT$206.1 billion, estimating an average bonus of NT$2.64 million per person.
Jealous? TSMC's annual salary adjustment is here. The average increase of 3%-5% slightly beats the typical 2%-3% seen across Taiwan's tech sector. But the real story lies in the 7%-9% range reserved exclusively for top-performing senior engineers.
TSMC's internal performance evaluation has four tiers: O (outstanding, very few), S (meets all targets, majority), I (needs improvement), and U (unsatisfactory). An S+ designation marks the top tier within the S band.
This year, S+-rated senior engineers (grade 33-34 and above) get 7%-9%; younger staff with an S rating receive about 5%, and those who hit S+ can reach 7%.
Retention Signal
The logic behind this compensation design is clear: TSMC's grade 33-plus senior engineers form the technical backbone of 2nm process technology and CoWoS advanced packaging. The company is targeting raises at the most irreplaceable employees.
In early April, Elon Musk's Terafab reportedly offered triple salaries to poach 2nm and CoWoS engineers in Taiwan. TSMC's highest raise bracket precisely targets the same expertise pool, suggesting the bidding war for talent has further to go.
Bonus Average NT$2.64M, Salary Up 22.95%
TSMC's total 2025 employee bonus pool was NT$206.1 billion. With roughly 78,000 employees, the average per-person bonus hit NT$2.6428 million. The average salary that year reached NT$4.093 million, up 22.95% year-on-year. Including benefits, total compensation rose to NT$4.425 million.
This isn't sudden generosity. It's the inevitable result of surging AI computing demand driving premium orders up the supply chain.
TSMC previously announced plans to hire about 8,000 new employees in 2026, with master's-level engineers starting at an average annual salary of NT$2.2 million, and non-technical roles like business management and HR also included.
The 8,000-person recruitment drive aligns with the 2nm mass production timeline (TSMC's Baoshan plant is expected to start risk production by end-2025 and mass production in 2026), CoWoS expansion plans, and ongoing staffing needs for the Arizona US Fab — a seemingly insatiable demand.
For those who can't join TSMC, buying its stock offers a way to share the profits.
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