Micron’s Taoyuan union in Taiwan began a 24-hour strike at 9 a.m. on Oct. 22 outside Taiwan Micron’s Taoyuan facility. The action involved 11 union officials rather than a full walkout by all members. The union called on members to show support and to vote on the company’s proposal after it is presented.
The strike had originally been framed as a solidarity action. On Oct. 20, the Taoyuan union said it would strike for one day to back the Taichung union’s second mediation session scheduled for Oct. 22 and to press Micron to put forward a concrete plan. But the situation changed after Micron’s Taichung union signed a labor agreement with the company on Oct. 21 and withdrew the mediation that had been set for the following day. Taoyuan’s union still moved ahead with the strike.
Core demands remain focused on profit sharing and a one-time bonus
The Taoyuan and Taichung unions had jointly raised four demands. Two of them sit at the center of the current dispute. One calls for a one-time bonus tied to FY2026 operating profit at a 15% level, paid on top of the annual Incentive Performance Plan, or IPP. The other seeks to convert the IPP into a 15% profit-sharing system starting in FY2027 and to change the payout schedule from once a year to once every quarter.
The other two demands are an anti-free-rider clause and a non-retaliation clause.
Taichung signed first, while Taoyuan failed to reach a deal
On the Taoyuan side, labor and management held talks at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21 at the Taoyuan City Government. Company representatives included Chairman Lu Tung-hui, and Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang was also present. The talks ended without an agreement.
The Taoyuan union said Micron had still not provided concrete figures. According to the union, the company said at the first mediation on Sept. 4 that it would present a profit-sharing proposal at the next session. It did not do so at the second mediation on Sept. 21, and by Oct. 21, nearly a month later, there was still no specific response. The union said it wanted a clear answer on both the ratio and amount for this year’s one-time bonus, as well as details of the profit-sharing system.
Taoyuan’s Labor Affairs Department said Micron had proposed a new quarterly bonus system that is expected to take effect in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Because the company had signed a confidentiality clause with the Taichung union, other compensation details would not be disclosed until the morning of Oct. 22.
Taoyuan union says its position was not fully reflected
Lin Zhe-rui, chairman of the Taoyuan union, criticized the process, saying the four demands had been raised jointly by both unions but the Taoyuan union’s views were not fully incorporated. He said the company reached an agreement with the Taichung union on its own and signed a confidentiality agreement.
Lin said the Taichung union’s vote on the agreement totaled 12 ballots, with 9 in favor, 2 against, and 1 invalid. He argued that the Taoyuan union should also have had 12 votes. Under that calculation, he said, the combined result would have been 9 votes in favor and 14 against, which should have meant “no consensus.” Lin also quoted Coach Anzai from Slam Dunk, saying, “If you give up now, the game is over.”
In a response issued on the evening of Oct. 21, Micron said: “Although the company and the Taoyuan union did not reach a consensus in today’s talks, the company still expects to continue communication and dialogue with the Taoyuan union.”
Unverified FY27 compensation material draws attention
According to FY27 compensation material obtained by Min Bao, Micron plans to add a “quarterly profit bonus” for employees at director level and below. Under that material, 50% would be paid in cash after each quarterly earnings report, while the other 50% would be granted as stock at year-end, with a one-year vesting requirement.
The same material says the calculation would begin with quarterly GAAP net operating profit after tax. After reserving funds needed for the next quarter’s capital expenditures, the company would then calculate employee profit bonuses. Min Bao said the material came from a reader tip, and Micron has not confirmed it.
The material also says the IPP for director level and below would shift to a 100% strategy-target basis, from the current structure in which profitability and strategy each account for 50%. The maximum score for strategy targets would also rise from 200% to 250%.
Placed against the union’s demands, a move to quarterly payouts would bring the plan closer to what the union has asked for: changing the payout cycle from once a year to once a quarter. But the full formula for the contribution ratio has not been made public. The union has specifically asked for a 15% figure, along with a one-time bonus for this year, and the material disclosed by Min Bao does not show any arrangement for that one-time bonus.
Micron set to announce plan on Oct. 22, with more talks on Oct. 23
Micron is scheduled to hold a company-wide meeting at 10 a.m. on Oct. 22 to announce its compensation plan. After the meeting, union members are set to conduct an indicative vote on the proposal outside the company gate. Both sides have also scheduled a second round of talks for Oct. 23 at the Taoyuan City Government, and Taoyuan’s Labor Affairs Department said it would continue assisting the two sides.
Tensions in Taichung have not fully subsided either. The specific terms of the Taichung agreement have not been made public. Min Bao reported that a Google form titled “Taiwan Micron Memory Enterprise Union Emergency Petition to Revoke Authorization and Suspend Signing” had appeared online. The form calls for revoking or freezing the union representatives’ authority to sign the agreement and for full disclosure of the deal so members can review it again. The identity of the initiator and the number of signatories remain unclear.