Key facts
- Micron Technology's labor unions in Taiwan, representing two-thirds of its workers, are threatening a strike.
- The unions demand an overhaul of the company's bonus system and adequate profit sharing.
- Over 80% of surveyed union members backed strike action.
- Micron stated its performance bonus payout this year will be the highest in company history.
- Taiwan is Micron's largest manufacturing base globally, with investments totaling NT$1.4 trillion ($43.9 billion).
Micron Technology's labor unions in Taiwan, representing approximately 10,000 workers or two-thirds of the workforce at facilities in Taoyuan and Taichung, have indicated they are moving towards a potential strike. The unions are demanding that the U.S.-based memory-chip maker overhaul its bonus system and share profits more adequately, citing that arrangements at South Korean competitors like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have created a wider gap compared to Micron workers.
In an internal online survey conducted in August, over 80% of participating union members supported strike action. Micron's Taiwan office responded by stating that this year's performance bonus payout is projected to be the highest in the company's history and that it will continue dialogue with employees through existing channels while respecting legal processes.
The threat of a work stoppage comes amid a surge in demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence hardware, which has tightened global supply and boosted profits across the semiconductor sector. A strike at Micron, the world's third-largest memory-chip maker, would be highly disruptive, as Taiwan serves as the company's largest global manufacturing base. Authorities in Taipei noted that Micron has invested NT$1.4 trillion ($43.9 billion) in the island, producing both DRAM and high-bandwidth memory chips there.
This dispute bears resemblance to a situation at Samsung Electronics in South Korea, where a planned 18-day strike by up to 48,000 union members was averted in May following last-minute negotiations. That agreement established a special bonus pool equivalent to 10.5% of the chip division's operating profit, contingent on profitability targets.