"Taiwan Must Attract 400,000 to 500,000 Skilled Foreign Workers by 2040"

Guo Zhihui, Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs, stated that 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers need to be attracted by 2040 to develop the manufacturing industry, according to a report by the Taipei Times on the 27th.

According to the report, Guo, who is visiting the United States to attend the SelectUSA Investment Summit, said on the 25th (local time) in Washington that the newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te and his administration are considering plans to import labor to address the imminent shortage of engineers and skilled personnel.

Taiwan semiconductor company TSMC

Guo also mentioned that the Ministry of Economic Affairs is studying measures such as easing immigration restrictions and introducing incentives while calculating the exact scale of the required workforce.

Guo cited population decline as the reason for these measures. Due to the population decrease, the domestic supply of skilled workers essential to Taiwan's core manufacturing sector is expected to diminish.

However, he predicted that even if foreign workers are employed, this would be a measure to resolve the labor shortage in Taiwan's industries and would not have a negative impact on Taiwan's employment market.