Star Metro - Micron workers at Taiwan plant vote in favour of strike

Global chip companies, including Micron, have been major beneficiaries of soaring demand for artificial intelligence.

But as their earnings skyrocket, many workers are demanding a bigger cut of profits.

Micron, which makes around 50-60 percent of its chips in Taiwan, has been locked in talks over remuneration with two labour unions representing nearly 12,000 of 15,000 workers at its Taoyuan and Taichung plants.

At the Taoyuan site, "the Micron Taiwan Union has obtained the legal right to conduct a strike and establish strike picket lines," the plant's union secretary Chen Yen-kai said.

Of 2,258 eligible union members at the Taoyuan plant, 2,012 cast ballots, with 1,994 voting in favour of strike action and 14 voting against, the union said.

Four ballots were invalid in the vote held over recent days.

The Taichung union, which represents around 11,000 workers at the larger plant, told AFP its talks with Micron will continue as scheduled, despite the strike action in Taoyuan.

The unions are seeking a one-off bonus of 83 months' salary as well as a permanent system that allocates 15 percent of the company's operating profits to worker bonuses, distributed quarterly rather than annually.

Micron's announcement last month that it would give the equivalent of up to 68 months of pay to staff was rejected by workers.

The unions said the one-off payment was insufficient and "clearly lagging behind" its competitors.

Insatiable global appetite for the silicon components used in AI data centres -- especially memory chips, which are in short supply -- has sent revenues soaring for firms that design, produce and assemble them.

The Micron unions' demands follow recent labour disputes in South Korea, where Samsung Electronics averted a strike by agreeing to a deal to distribute bonuses equivalent to 10.5 percent of operating profit to its semiconductor employees.

That agreement means around 78,000 employees from Samsung's 125,000-strong domestic workforce are eligible to receive a bonus of roughly US$370,000 this year, based on a market estimate of profits.

Micron has also seen stellar financial results.

The US company posted record revenue of around US$133 billion for fiscal 2026 -- up 256 percent from $37 billion in the previous year.

Micron has said more than NT$1.6 trillion ($50 billion) has been invested in Taiwan, describing the island as its "critical hub."

M.Anderson--SMC