Micron workers at Taiwan plant vote in favour of strike

Hundreds of Micron Technology workers at a plant in Taiwan have voted to strike, their union announced on Wednesday, following unsuccessful discussions with the US memory chip company over bonus reforms. Micron, which manufactures approximately 50-60% of its chips in Taiwan, has been negotiating remuneration with two labour unions representing nearly 12,000 workers out of a total of 15,000 at the Taoyuan and Taichung plants.

At the Taoyuan site, the Micron Taiwan Union obtained the legal right to hold a strike and establish picket lines, according to Chen Yen-kai, the union secretary. Out of 2,258 eligible union members, 2,012 ballots were cast, with 1,994 in favour of the strike and 14 opposed. Four ballots were invalid in the recent vote. The Taichung union, representing around 11,000 workers at the larger plant, stated that their talks with Micron will proceed as planned, despite the strike action in Taoyuan.

The unions are demanding a one-off bonus of 83 months' salary and a permanent system that allocates 15% of the company's operating profits to worker bonuses, distributed quarterly instead of annually. Micron's proposal of up to 68 months' pay was rejected by the workers, as it was deemed insufficient and falling behind its competitors.

The global demand for AI data center components, particularly memory chips, has led to soaring revenues for chip companies. The recent labour disputes in South Korea, where Samsung Electronics avoided a strike by offering bonuses equivalent to 10.5% of operating profit to its semiconductor employees, have influenced Micron's unions.

Micron reported record revenue of around US$133 billion for fiscal 2026, a 256% increase from US$37 billion in the previous year, and has invested more than T$1.6 trillion (US$50 billion) in the Taiwanese hub.