Abstract:
After employees at Samsung's memory chip factory successfully obtained higher bonuses, employees at Micron's factory in Taiwan also began to seek similar benefits. Micron's Taiwan labor union held a meeting in July this year to study the strike by Samsung employees and the results of their negotiations. Union members told Reuters that workers may take further strike action if management fails to meet their demands.
The Micron labor union meeting in July this year mainly discussed employees’ questions about the strike and also solicited employees’ opinions on the company’s bonus policy. Currently, Micron’s maximum bonus cap is 200% of salary. The union also promised to update attendees on the strike launched by Samsung employees earlier this year and how they successfully renegotiated bonus caps and profit-sharing ratios.
Previously, Samsung employees protested because SK Hynix employees received high bonuses. At that time, the memory chip industry was driven by market prosperity, and SK Hynix paid considerable bonuses to employees. Employees in Samsung's memory chip department subsequently negotiated for a more favorable bonus policy, but this result triggered protests from other employees in Samsung's DS business group, with some employees even wearing black armbands to work.
According to Reuters, Micron’s unions in Taiwan’s Taoyuan and Taichung regions conducted a survey in August, and more than 80% of the members participating in the survey expressed support for the strike. The two unions said they represent about 10,000 Micron employees in total, while Micron's total number of employees in Taiwan is about 15,000.
Similar to the demands of Samsung employees, Micron Taiwan employees hope that the company will reform its bonus system and profit-sharing plan. Micron also responded to Reuters saying that the company's performance bonus plan in 2026 will reach the highest level since its establishment.
Although Micron is headquartered in the United States, a significant portion of its advanced memory chip manufacturing facilities are located in Taiwan. The rapid expansion of the artificial intelligence industry has brought huge benefits to memory chip and logic chip manufacturers, and is also reshaping the entire semiconductor industry. TSMC also paid high bonuses to employees in the first half of this year.
According to documents submitted by the Taiwanese foundry to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, TSMC’s second-quarter revenue increased by 36% year-on-year, and employee bonuses increased by 50.6% year-on-year.
The author Ramish is a technology reporter and editor with more than ten years of experience, mainly focusing on semiconductor manufacturing and market analysis. He has a bachelor's degree in finance and a micro-master's degree in supply chain management from MIT. He has long reported on the technology industry with a professional background in finance and supply chain fields.
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