Micron Technology, Inc. Taiwan Factory Employees Say "68 Months' Bonus Is Not Enough"... Threaten Strike

[Financial News] Hundreds of Taiwanese workers at memory semiconductor company Micron Technology, Inc. rejected a performance bonus offer from management equivalent to 68 months' salary and held a rally on the 1st (local time), warning of a possible strike, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
As global semiconductor companies reap massive profits driven by the explosion in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the voices of workers demanding fair profit sharing commensurate with earnings growth appear to be growing louder.
Micron Technology, Inc., which produces about 50–60% of its total semiconductors in Taiwan, has been continuing wage and compensation negotiations with two unions representing approximately 12,000 of the 15,000 workers at its Taoyuan and Taichung City factories. Last week, the company announced that for the 2026 fiscal year, it would provide Taiwanese employees with "total compensation equivalent to 35 to 68 months' salary, including a minimum cash compensation of 1.7 million Taiwanese dollars (approximately 73.7 million won)."
However, workers who gathered at the basketball court across from the Taoyuan factory to protest maintain that the performance bonus package is woefully inadequate. The union declared that it would go on strike if negotiations with management, which began in early September under government mediation, ultimately fail.
The employees demanded a lump-sum performance bonus equivalent to 83 months' salary, a fixed allocation of 15% of operating profit as a worker performance bonus, and payment on a quarterly basis rather than annually.
Workers point out that their company's performance bonus levels are significantly lower compared with competitors in Korea, such as SK hynix and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Neil Shah, co-founder of Counterpoint Research, analyzed, "In the current semiconductor market, production capacity directly translates into market share," adding, "If Micron Technology, Inc. wants to avoid falling behind in the competition for market share with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and SK hynix, it must quickly resolve the conflict with its key workforce in Taiwan."
Meanwhile, Micron Technology, Inc., which has invested more than 1.6 trillion Taiwan dollars (approximately 69 trillion won) while calling Taiwan a "key hub," recorded its highest-ever revenue of $41.5 billion (approximately 5.8 billion won) in the quarter ending last May.

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