Micron union nixes payout deal

UNION DETERMINATION: Rejecting an offer for a one-time payout as an attempt to influence opinion, the union said a strike at the memory chip manufacturer is possible

The Micron Taiwan workers’ union yesterday rejected a one-time payout unveiled by US-based Micron Technology Inc last week, saying it wants a long-term mechanism under which employees would share 15 percent of the company’s operating profits.

While the union and the company are still in talks over the dispute, the reward package was proposed unilaterally by the employer without reaching an agreement with the union, union head Jerry Lin (林哲瑞) told reporters.

Lin said he suspected the company was seeking to influence public opinion with the move.

Micron Taiwan union head Jerry Lin, front, speaks at a news conference outside the office of American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

On Friday last week, Micron announced a reward package under which employees in Taiwan would receive compensation equivalent to 35 to 68 months’ pay for this fiscal year, after the union threatened to strike.

Under the one-time payout, employees in Taiwan would receive at least NT$1.7 million (US$53,379) in cash compensation for this fiscal year, while entry-level engineers would receive an average of NT$2.9 million in compensation, including stock rewards.

Average compensation is expected to reach NT$3.4 million.

Lin said the union was not seeking a one-time payout but instead wanted a long-term, fair system for distributing profits. He urged Micron to establish a transparent and verifiable profit-sharing mechanism under which 15 percent of the company’s operating profits would be distributed to employees.

Lin said whether the union stages a strike would depend on the outcome of two rounds of negotiations scheduled for this Friday and Monday next week.

He said that if the company continues to seek to influence the talks, the union would declare that negotiations have broken down and hold a vote among its members on whether to strike.

Global demand for memory chips has risen amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, tightening supplies and driving up prices. The trend has allowed companies including Micron, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to post record sales and profits.

Micron workers in Taiwan have expressed dissatisfaction with bonuses they have received, with some workers considering going on strike in protest.

Taiwan is Micron’s largest memory production base, accounting for about 60 percent of its total production capacity and primarily producing DRAM and high-bandwidth memory chips. A strike could tighten supplies and exacerbate the supply-demand imbalance amid the AI boom, industry sources said.

Micron yesterday said it would continue to listen to its employees and participate in the mediation process in good faith. The company’s reward package was intended to allow all employees to share in its achievements, it said.

Micron, which employs about 15,000 people in Taiwan and has invested more than NT$1.6 trillion in the country, posted record sales of US$41.46 billion and net income of US$28.24 billion in its fiscal third quarter ending on May 28, company data showed.