One of the challenges that Chinese companies have with developing their own chipmaking gear is the lack of experienced professionals in fields as high-end lithography and optics. As Chinese companies, such as Huawei, want the best, they are aggressively recruiting people from ASML and Zeiss SMT, offering plenty of money in exchange for their world-class knowledge and experience, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Huawei approached employees at Germany's Zeiss SMT, which produces optics for ASML's lithography tools, offering up to triple their salaries. This has raised serious concerns in the U.S., Europe, and Asia over intellectual property theft and national security risks, triggering investigations and regulatory actions. German intelligence began investigating after Zeiss employees flagged these efforts, fearing that sensitive technological knowledge could be compromised. Huawei was also found targeting other German firms like Trumpf, which develops laser amplifiers for chip production.
Two years ago, the U.S. government obliged U.S. citizens and green card holders to apply for a license if they wanted to work in the Chinese semiconductor sector on certain products, which caused some brain drain from companies like AMEC, Huawei, and Naura (which has reportedly started to develop its own litho tools), which are particularly instrumental in building China's chipmaking tools prowess. As a result, Chinese entities accelerated their headhunting in Europe. ASML and its suppliers, including Zeiss, are key targets. Huawei and other Chinese firms have hired dozens of engineers with expertise in advanced optics and lithography, with some reportedly bringing trade secrets to Chinese entities.