Taipei (AFP) – Hundreds of workers at memory chip giant Micron Technology rallied on Thursday, threatening a strike as they rejected the US company’s bonus offer of 68 months’ pay as insufficient. Global chip companies such as Micron have been major beneficiaries of booming demand for artificial intelligence technology, but as their earnings skyrocket, many workers are demanding a bigger cut of profits.
Micron, which produces 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. The company publicly announced last week that its Taiwan employees will receive “total rewards equivalent to 35 to 68 months of pay, with minimum cash compensation of NT$1.7 million” (US$53,200) for fiscal 2026.
But workers demonstrating at a basketball court across the Taoyuan plant said the package did not go far enough. “I feel that this is something we deserve, so we must stand up for it — not just for ourselves, but also for all workers in Taiwan,” said a production technician who joined the union rally after work, identifying herself only as Lin. The unions said they would strike if government-mediated negotiations with Micron management — which began in early September — collapsed. 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.
Tsai, an engineer in his 40s, told AFP that Micron’s offer had “fallen short of expectations” given the huge surge in profits raked in by the company in recent years. “We naturally hope to negotiate through the union using fair and lawful means to strive for the bonus we deserve,” said Tsai, who only provided his family name. Micron workers also believe their bonus levels are far lower than those of competitors SK Hynix and Samsung. “Micron should look at how industry rivals treat their workers,” 49-year-old engineer Ken Wu said. “Only then will Micron become more competitive and attract more top talent.”
The union members’ 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. Massive demand 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.
Neil Shah, co-founder of Counterpoint Research, told AFP that Micron was racing against major South Korean rivals Samsung and SK Hynix for market share in memory chips. “Who has the most capacity will take the most share, because capacity is the constraint right now,” Shah said, noting that Micron’s Taiwan workforce is “super important” in maintaining that momentum. “Micron will have to find a solution,” he said, particularly when “Samsung has set an industry standard.”
Micron said more than NT$1.6 trillion has been invested in Taiwan, describing the island as its “critical hub.” The company posted record revenues, reaching US$41.5 billion, in the three months ending May.
© 2024 AFP
