In Taiwan, MediaTek stands out as the only listed company where the annual salary for non-executive full-time employees exceeds NT$4 million. Surprisingly, even semiconductor giant TSMC, which is known for its dominance in the industry, does not offer such compensation.
In fact, MediaTek’s annual remuneration is higher than TSMC’s, despite the latter’s overwhelming revenue performance.
For the first quarter of 2025, TSMC reported a massive revenue of $25.53 billion, while MediaTek earned $4.7 billion, showing a considerable difference. Despite the gap in revenue, MediaTek’s non-executive staff are better compensated. According to recent data published by ITHome, MediaTek’s non-executive employees earn an average annual salary of NT$4.31 million ($148,997), the highest in Taiwan among listed companies. This figure marks a 14.81% increase from 2023.
Realtek follows in second place with a salary of NT$3.915 million ($135,361). In contrast, TSMC ranks seventh on the list, with its non-executive employees earning NT$3.391 million ($117,193), far below MediaTek’s compensation. The reasons behind this pay disparity are unclear, but it could be due to TSMC’s larger workforce, which requires a different pay scale structure. In 2024, MediaTek employed about 21,982 people, while TSMC had nearly 83,000 employees, which might contribute to the differences in compensation.
Despite the pay gap, TSMC remains an industry leader, making major strides in semiconductor production. It is also important to note that TSMC’s reputation as an employer remains strong, with the company being one of the top firms to work for in 2024. However, the significant salary difference and the increasing number of employees leaving TSMC could raise questions about its future employee retention strategies.
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