The Micron Technology labor union in Taoyuan, Taiwan, has secured member approval to launch a strike over a dispute regarding bonus schemes and the company's profit-sharing plan. A total of 1,994 members—representing 99% of those who voted—supported the strike action. The specific date and form of the planned strike have not yet been finalized.
Taiwan is a crucial production hub for Micron’s DRAM and HBM chips, which are currently seeing demand outstrip supply due to the boom in data centers. A strike would undoubtedly impact the global memory supply.
Micron employs approximately 15,000 people in Taiwan. Two major unions—based in Taoyuan and Taichung—represent over 80% of the company's workforce in the country. Negotiations with the Taoyuan union broke down in September, while talks with the Taichung union are ongoing.
Micron has announced a cash bonus of NT$1 million (~RM128,329) for its Taiwan employees as part of a global post-profit reward. However, the union maintains that this bonus does not address their demands for a long-term profit-sharing system.
The Micron union appears to be taking inspiration from the strike action taken by Samsung's union last May. Following the threat of an 18-day strike, Samsung agreed to pay KRW 40 trillion (~RM122 billion) in bonuses to employees in its semiconductor business. Approximately 28,000 staff members in this division received a bonus of KRW 513 million (~RM1.6 million) each.
