Micron Taiwan Workers Vote to Strike Over Bonus Demands
Nearly 2,000 union members backed strike action after negotiations over higher bonuses and profit-sharing failed to reach an agreement.
Hundreds of workers at a Micron Technology plant in Taiwan have voted to strike after talks with the US memory chipmaker over bonus reforms broke down, according to the union representing the employees.
The Micron Taiwan Union said it had secured the legal right to conduct a strike and establish picket lines at the company’s Taoyuan plant following the vote.
Of 2,258 eligible union members at the plant, 2,012 cast ballots. The union said 1,994 voted in favour of strike action, while 14 voted against and four ballots were invalid.
The unions are seeking a one-off bonus equivalent to 83 months of salary, along with a permanent system that would allocate 15 percent of the company’s operating profits to worker bonuses. They are also calling for the bonuses to be distributed quarterly rather than annually.
Micron has been among the major beneficiaries of surging demand for artificial intelligence technology. The company, along with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, is a major producer of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers.
Micron produces around 50–60 percent of its chips in Taiwan and has been negotiating remuneration with two unions representing nearly 12,000 of its 15,000 workers at its Taoyuan and Taichung plants.
The dispute comes amid similar demands for higher payouts from workers at major South Korean chipmakers. Samsung avoided a strike in May after agreeing to distribute bonuses equivalent to 10.5 percent of operating profit to its semiconductor employees.
