Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), the second-largest contract chipmaker in Taiwan, said on Tuesday that it is raising its basic salaries to improve the firm's wage structure.

Starting from January, UMC said basic salaries will be boosted by between 2.5 percent and 6 percent, which is aimed at providing more attractive compensation to employees, a move expected to help the company recruit newcomers at a time of production expansion.

To meet the needs of production expansion in its wafer foundry located in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, UMC said, the company is planning to hire 1,000 new staff this year.

Local media cited UMC chief financial officer Liu Chitung as saying that the upward adjustments in basic wages reflect the chipmaker's improving bottom lines.

In 2020, UMC posted a new high of NT$176.82 billion (US$6.23 billion) in consolidated sales, up 19.31 percent from a year earlier, on the back of strong global demand for eight-inch wafers.

UMC said the hike in basic salaries will not affect the company's annual wage increase, which is scheduled for May, so its employees will still receive a regular wage rise at that time.

Currently, UMC has almost 20,000 employees worldwide, operating production lines in Taiwan, China, Singapore and Japan.

The chipmaker has scheduled an investor conference for Wednesday to detail earnings for the fourth quarter of last year and give guidance for the first quarter of this year.