Micron union in Taiwan to launch strike as bonus dispute escalates

By Wen-Yee Lee

The strike raises the stakes in a labour dispute at one of Micron's most important manufacturing hubs, where it produces DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, key components in AI servers.

The Taoyuan union said the strike was intended to show solidarity with the Taichung union and to increase pressure on Micron to put forward a concrete profit-sharing proposal.

Micron employs about 15,000 people in Taiwan, with separate unions representing workers at its Taoyuan and Taichung operations. The company has said it has invested more than T$1.6 trillion ($49 billion) on the island.

Mediation between Micron and the Taoyuan union ended without an agreement in September. The union secured authorisation from its members to strike in early October.

The Taichung union, which represents workers at Micron's largest operation in Taiwan, remains in negotiations with the company. It has yet to hold a vote on whether to strike.

The Taoyuan union did not specify how long the solidarity strike would last, saying it would release further details on Thursday.

"Through our actions, we will make our dissatisfaction with the current system heard and demonstrate our determination to establish a fair profit-sharing system," the Taoyuan union said in a statement on Monday.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called last week for Micron and its workers to negotiate "sincerely".

($1 = 32.4940 Taiwan dollars)

(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Eduardo Baptista and Kevin Buckland)