Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest contract maker of chips, said on Wednesday that it would rehire hundreds of its ex-employees fired in the recent quarters as the market outlook improves, at least for TSMC itself.

“Although the economic crisis continues, the company’s revenues are on the upturn and the second quarter will be much better than the first… We will not have further lay-offs,” said Morris Chang, the chairman of TSMC, reports Financial Times news-paper.

In the recent months TSMC laid off about 700 employees because of lower-than-expected sales and poor predictions. But now that the results got better, the company believes that it can re-hire its workers.

Those dismissed found it “almost impossible” to find another job during the economic downturn and were infuriated by TSMC’s decision. Angry former employees last month surrounded Mr. Chang’s house to protest at the loss of their jobs and demand bigger severance packages, reports the FT.

In late April TSMC said that it had cut recession forecast for the global chip-making market to an annual rate of 20% this year from 30% as previously thought based on data from its customers. During a forum in Hsinchu, Taiwan, organized by the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a vice chairman of TSMC said that a primary growth driver for his company was the recent surge of demand towards chips in China caused by the government stimulus package.

Tags: TSMC, Semiconductor