Micron offers Taiwan workers up to 68 months’ pay amid strike threat

Micron Technology ↘ 4.90% announced Friday that its direct-labor employees in Taiwan will receive fiscal 2026 rewards equivalent to 35 to 68 months of pay, the largest payout in the company's history, as the U.S. memory chipmaker tries to defuse a labor dispute that could disrupt global chip supplies.

Operators, technicians, and shift engineers will receive minimum cash compensation of NT$1.7 million (approximately $53,800), while Taiwan employees hired before August 29, 2025, will also get a one-time NT$1 million cash bonus, Reuters reported. Entry-level engineers will average NT$3.4 million in total rewards, including about NT$2.9 million in cash and the remainder in equity. More than 60,000 Micron employees globally will receive fiscal 2026 rewards, the company said.focustaiwan+1

Record Profits Drive Record Payouts

The compensation package follows an extraordinary year for Micron, which reported record fiscal third-quarter revenue of $41.46 billion and net income of $28.24 billion, fueled by surging demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra called the results a reflection of "the strategic value of memory in the AI era".benzinga+1

Micron described the rewards as demonstrating its long-term commitment to sharing success with employees. The annual performance bonus cap has been raised to 500% of the baseline target, supplemented by additional equity grants.trendforce

Strike Threat Persists

Despite the record package, a labor dispute remains unresolved. Unions representing nearly 10,000 of Micron's roughly 15,000 Taiwan employees said more than 80% of surveyed members backed strike action. The unions have demanded that future bonuses be tied to 15% of operating profit, pointing to profit-sharing arrangements at South Korean rivals as benchmarks.benzinga+1

Samsung Electronics narrowly avoided an 18-day strike involving up to 48,000 workers in May after agreeing to a special bonus pool equal to 10.5% of its chip division's operating profit. SK Hynix ↘ 5.20% went further, agreeing to share 10% of annual operating profit with workers.businesstimes+1

Micron and its Taoyuan union failed to reach agreement during a mediation meeting on September 4, with a second round scheduled for September 21. With Micron's annual compensation adjustments due October 1, the coming weeks will be pivotal.trendforce

Supply Chain Stakes

Taiwan is Micron's largest memory chip production base, accounting for about 60% of its total output and largely producing DRAM and high-bandwidth memory chips. The company has invested more than NT$1.6 trillion (approximately $50 billion) in the island. Industry sources told Taiwan's Central News Agency that a potential strike could further constrain supplies and worsen an existing supply-demand imbalance amid the AI boom.reuters+1