PHOENIX — David Amiri was excited in 2022 when he took a job in fire protection at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new plant in north Phoenix.
A fire safety expert, he saw TSMC as a place where he could potentially finish his career. But he said when he flagged safety concerns, he was accused of creating problems.
“In all simplicity’s sake, the American workforce was being sidelined,” he told ABC15 in a recent interview.
Amiri is one of 28 current and former employees who are suing the giant chip manufacturer in federal court, alleging discrimination, a hostile work environment and safety concerns.
The lawsuit alleges TSMC favors East Asian employees while Americans are yelled at and called things like “stupid” and “lazy.” It also alleges that TSMC “routinely subjects non-East Asians to a hostile work environment where verbal abuse, gaslighting, isolation and humiliation is common."
“The allegation is that TSMC engages in what's called a pattern or practice of discrimination where there is favoritism,” said Daniel Kotchen, the attorney who represents the current and former employees.
TSMC declined an on-camera interview request from ABC15, saying they don’t comment on lawsuits outside court filings. In court filings, the company denies the allegations, and attorneys for TSMC have called the 160-page lawsuit “full of lurid, fabricated stories with no relevance to their legal claims and for the purposes of promoting public scandal and defaming TSMC.”
Another former employee, Antonio Fisher, said he was also optimistic about going to work at TSMC in 2021 as an engineering technician.
“The reason why I took the job at TSMC is because I know they’re the industry leaders,” he said.
He said his optimism was short-lived.
Fisher claims he saw a number of safety violations, including employees failing to use what’s called lockout/tagout. This is a safety procedure that prevents equipment from accidentally starting during maintenance.
“We weren’t taken seriously,” he said. “The more we spoke out, the more we were ostracized and considered troublemakers.”
He also alleges another incident he found troubling.
“I came into the office, and there was a rubber chicken hanging by a noose from the ceiling,” he said.
Michelle Bernardo went to work for TSMC in human resources in 2021, according to the lawsuit.
“It's a big and shiny new company, but there are still laws that every company should follow,” she told ABC15.
The lawsuit claims TSMC disfavors older American workers and women, alleging that recruiters are instead expected to seek out “young talents.”
Bernardo said she often spoke out to push for fair treatment.
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“I felt like it just went in one ear and out the other,” she said.
TSMC is one of the world’s leading chip manufacturers. A factory in north Phoenix has brought thousands of new construction and tech jobs. Earlier this year, TSMC’s chairman and CEO, C.C. Wei, stood beside President Trump as the company announced a $100 billion expansion.
But amid talks of expansion is the pending discrimination lawsuit. It was filed last year with a single plaintiff. The lawsuit has since grown to 28 and has the potential to become a class-action lawsuit. Attorneys for TSMC and the former employees are now in the discovery phase of the lawsuit where they gather information and evidence in hopes of supporting their claims.
Former employees like Bernardo hope the lawsuit leads to change.
“Any new company in the U.S., who's still trying to learn the culture, is still also responsible for making sure that they're not above the law,” she said.
TSMC declined comment to ABC15 on the lawsuit’s allegations beyond what has been said in court filings. In court filings, company has denied the lawsuit’s allegations.
The company released a statement to ABC15 that said:
“With regards to the suit originally filed in August 2024, our policy is not to comment on litigation outside of our court filings.
“We’re proud of the global team of more than 3000 people that has come together to make our new facility in Arizona a success, and we look forward to growing the site into a major center of American semiconductor manufacturing excellence. TSMC is committed to providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for our employees, contractors, and everyone who works at our facilities around the world.”
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at: anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
