美光台灣罷工風險升高：HBM員工要求分享AI記憶體榮景

Workers who manufacture the chips needed for AI have decided to demand a share of the value created by AI, and they have the leverage to make that demand.

Two unions representing approximately 10,000 Micron Technology employees at its Taoyuan and Taichung plants in Taiwan announced on September 1st that they might launch a strike. They stated that unless Micron reforms its bonus system to directly link employee compensation to the company's soaring profits, they will proceed with the strike. Just as the unions announced their strike, Micron released one of the most profitable quarters in semiconductor industry history: revenue of $41.46 billion for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, a 346% year-over-year increase, with a gross margin of 84.9% and net profit of $28.24 billion. Every single high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip produced by these employees is ordered by customers before it even leaves the production line.

An internal survey conducted in August showed that 80% of the surveyed members supported the strike. The labor-management mediation meeting is expected to continue until mid-September; if negotiations break down, a formal strike vote may be held later in September. According to Taiwan's Labor Dispute Resolution Act, a strike motion must obtain the consent of more than half of all union members in a direct, secret ballot to pass, a threshold higher than the level of support reflected in this survey.

HBM's structure is the real bargaining chip for employees.

Most semiconductor production disruptions can eventually be resolved by transferring orders to other factories, but this time the situation is different.

Micron manufactures DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, especially HBM, in Taiwan, a process that cannot be directly replaced by production from any other foundry. HBM utilizes through-silicon vias (TSVs) to vertically stack multiple DRAM chips: narrow channels are first etched into the silicon wafer and filled with conductive material, then bonded layer by layer with microbumps, and finally integrated with the processor onto a silicon interposer. This TSV process requires specialized equipment, years of process calibration, and specialized personnel and production experience on specific machines in specific fabs. It cannot be replicated on a standard DRAM production line, nor can it be transferred to other manufacturers for a time when customer supplies can be secured.

Micron's current HBM4 uses a 12-layer stack, providing over 2.8TB of bandwidth per second for the NVIDIA Vera Rubin AI accelerator platform, and is scheduled to enter mass production in the first quarter of 2026, with a ramp-up rate approximately twice that of its predecessor. Micron has secured HBM production capacity through binding customer agreements all the way to 2027. The company also revealed that some key customers are currently only able to meet half or even less of their demand.

Simply put, the employees in Taoyuan and Taichung produce products that cannot be supplied in sufficient quantities or in a short period of time by other parts of the world. This is not a typical labor dispute.

What exactly do employees want?

The core of the controversy lies in a specific system. Micron's current Incentive Performance Plan (IPP) calculates annual bonuses based on company and individual performance indicators. The union argues that this formula lacks transparency, is more tied to revenue than profit, and results in bonuses significantly lower than those of competitors.

According to union statistics and data from Taiwan's *Commercial Times* and *Liberty Times*, the actual IPP bonus is approximately 2.6 months' salary, with a theoretical upper limit of about 5 months, or 200% of the target value. In comparison, SK Hynix, based on a 10% operating profit calculation, projects an average bonus of nearly 700 million won (approximately US$510,000) per employee in 2026; Samsung, based on its recently agreed 10.5% profit split for its chip division, projects a maximum bonus equivalent to approximately US$400,000. SK Hynix's proposal was rejected by union members due to concerns about the stock-based distribution method, and negotiations have resumed. Samsung's proposal has been approved, with chip division employees receiving an average of approximately US$340,000.

For the 2026 fiscal year, the union is demanding a one-time bonus payment; according to their calculations, this amount is equivalent to approximately 83 months' salary per employee. Starting from the 2027 fiscal year, the union is demanding the complete elimination of the Individual Product Bonus (IPP) and the adoption of a quarterly bonus system that allocates 15% of annual operating profit as bonuses. This percentage is higher than Samsung's 10.5%, SK Hynix's 10%, and TSMC's 4.7% allocation of net profit, but lower than Winbond Electronics' 15% allocation based on net profit.

Lin Che-lai, chairman of the Micron Wafer Technology Enterprise Union, pointed out the core dissatisfaction: the company enjoys high profits, but the increase in employee salaries is limited.

Micron's Taiwan office responded to Reuters, stating that this year's performance bonuses will be the highest in Micron's history. The company will continue to communicate with employees through existing channels and respect applicable legal procedures. Micron also pointed out that its compensation system includes not only the Individual Product Plan (IPP) but also base salary, operating bonuses, and equity plans such as employee stock purchases and restricted stock. The union, however, believes that this statement is insufficient to address their demands when compared to the company's profit scale in 2026.

Why Taiwan is the only key location?

Taiwan is Micron's largest manufacturing base globally. The company has invested approximately NT$1.4 trillion (about US$44.2 billion) in Taiwan, where it produces DRAM and HBM. Documents submitted by Micron to regulatory authorities also confirm that by 2025, the majority of its DRAM production will come from its Taiwanese facilities.

In March 2026, Micron completed the acquisition of the Tongxiao wafer fab, formerly Powerchip's P5 fab, located in Miaoli County, approximately 24 kilometers from Micron's Taichung fab. This acquisition adds approximately 27,870 square meters of cleanroom space to its existing 300mm wafer fab, which Micron plans to use for advanced DRAM and HBM production, aiming to begin shipping by mid-2027. Micron originally planned to increase its Taiwan workforce to 15,000 by the end of 2026, which is precisely the current number of employees scattered across Micron's locations who may potentially strike the company.

In August, the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration stated that it was closely monitoring the dispute and had assigned personnel to assist Micron in contacting the union. The administration warned that the strike could affect employees' livelihoods, Micron's operations, Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain, and the overall economy; if the two sides cannot reach an agreement on their own, it is also prepared to initiate formal mediation.

President Lai Ching-te publicly addressed the matter on September 1, stating that Taiwan's semiconductor industry was built through "specialized division of labor and long-term cooperation," and that Taiwan has consistently supplied the global market stably and fulfilled its commitments. These remarks are seen as a signal that the government is paying close attention to the risk of supply chain disruptions.

What happened between Samsung and SK Hynix?

The union has made it clear that the cases of Samsung and SK Hynix are the benchmarks that prompted its demands, and these two cases also reveal the possible direction of this dispute.

Samsung Electronics had planned an 18-day strike involving 48,000 chip industry workers, but this was averted on May 20th after final negotiations mediated by the South Korean Minister of Labor. The agreement established a special bonus pool equivalent to 10.5% of the chip division's operating profits, to be implemented for at least 10 years. With the chip division projected to achieve record profits by 2026 alone, the bonuses calculated using this formula would have reached levels unimaginable a year ago.

As of this writing, the labor dispute at SK Hynix remains unresolved. On August 25th, union members rejected the provisional agreement by a mere 0.16 percentage points, 25 out of 15,045 votes. The crux of the dispute was the company's proposal to pay 60% of bonuses in stock instead of cash, a proposal opposed by employees due to concerns about stock price volatility. Following the vote's failure, negotiations resumed immediately.

The three major memory chip manufacturers are exhibiting a similar pattern: amidst the AI ​​infrastructure boom, employee productivity is driving industry growth, thus demanding institutional guarantees to replace employer discretionary payments, ensuring a proportional and predictable share of windfall gains through clear formulas. Now, Micron is the next company facing this demand.

Do HBM manufacturing employees have a right to demand institutionalized profit sharing?

The economic logic behind the union's stance is quite straightforward: Micron's HBM capacity for 2026 and 2027 was sold out before the halfway point of the fiscal year. This wasn't due to marketing or pricing strategies, but rather the extreme scarcity of wafer fabs globally with TSV process capabilities and trained staff. Employees responsible for process certification, TSV equipment maintenance, handling yield anomalies, and monitoring die stacking cannot be replaced by typical DRAM personnel; the expansion of the Tongxiao fab also demonstrates that Micron knows it needs more of this type of talent.

The shutdowns in Taoyuan and Taichung not only reduce Micron's output but also decrease the global supply of HBM, with no alternative sources in the short term. Samsung and SK Hynix are also operating at full capacity with their HBM production under long-term customer agreements, utilizing their respective equipment calibrations and personnel expertise. If the strike causes Micron's customers to lose their quotas, it will be impossible to transfer orders to competitors' wafer fabs within a meaningful timeframe.

While analysts' risk assessments are cautious, their stance is clear. Bernstein analyst Mark Li maintained a "buy" rating on Micron with a 12-month price target of $1,300; the consensus price target among 31 analysts they track is closer to $1,556, both viewing AI demand as a structural growth driver. However, analysts also pointed out that if the strike extends, it will test whether Micron's $100 billion strategic customer agreements announced in the third quarter can withstand physical supply disruptions that the contractual terms cannot prevent.

What will happen next?

A strike has not yet been formally announced. According to Taiwan's Labor Dispute Resolution Act, labor-management mediation must first be declared invalid before employees can legally vote on a strike. The mediation meetings are expected to continue until mid-September; if negotiations fail, the union can apply for a formal strike vote, but it must obtain the support of more than half of all union members and be conducted by secret ballot, not just counting the majority of those present.

The 80% support shown in the survey is a strong signal of employee sentiment, but the survey only included those who participated in the initial survey and does not represent all 10,000 members. The results may differ once the formal vote covers all members. The union has been holding briefings since July to ensure full member participation in an attempt to close this gap.

Micron is expected to release its Q4 2026 fiscal year earnings report on September 30, with revenue guidance of $50 billion and a gross margin of nearly 86%. By the time the earnings report is released, labor negotiations will have reached some stage; how senior management discusses the labor situation at that time during the earnings call may provide investors with more information about the actual risks than pre-conference reports.

This controversy has put Micron in a truly difficult situation. The Taiwan business was the engine of the company's record-breaking fiscal year, and with HBM supply falling short of demand, every day the wafer fab was shut down meant irrecoverable revenue. At the same time, accepting the 15% operating profit distribution scheme would mean Micron would permanently change the compensation structure of its most important manufacturing region, inevitably becoming a benchmark for employees in other operating regions.

The employees in Taoyuan and Taichung are not asking to share the fruits of a general economic boom, but rather the prosperity they themselves have created.

Exchange rates as of September 2, 2026; converted figures are approximate values.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Micron's Incentive Pay Plan (IPP)? Why do employees feel it's unfair?

IPP is Micron's annual performance bonus system, calculated based on a combination of company and individual performance indicators. The union's specific objection is that this formula seems to track revenue rather than profit; that is, even if Micron's gross margin reaches a record high of 84.9% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, the IPP bonus still does not proportionally reflect profit results. The union's statistics show that in a year when Samsung Memory employees could expect bonuses close to $400,000 and SK Hynix employees received an average of about $510,000, Micron employees actually received bonuses equivalent to about 2.6 months' salary; although SK Hynix's plan was rejected in August. The union demands that IPP be replaced with a transparent formula: 15% of annual operating profit as bonuses, distributed quarterly.

How will the Micron Taiwan strike affect the AI ​​chip supply?

Unlike most manufacturing disruptions, Micron's shutdown in Taiwan cannot be offset by order transfers. HBM employs a special silicon through-hole process, which involves etching vertical channels into silicon dies and then bonding multiple dies into a single stack. This technology requires specific equipment, specialized personnel, and years of process optimization experience, making it difficult to transfer between different manufacturers in the short term. Micron's HBM and DRAM capacity is already sold out until 2027, and Samsung and SK Hynix are also bound by long-term contracts with their respective customers. There is no spare HBM capacity in the global market to absorb the supply disruption. Any AI accelerators that rely on Micron's HBM, including the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform, may experience production delays due to the shutdown in Taiwan.

When might a formal strike vote be held? What conditions are required for it to pass?

Taiwan's Labor Dispute Resolution Act requires mediation to proceed first, and employees can only legally hold a strike vote after it is confirmed that mediation has failed. Mediation meetings are expected to continue until mid-September; if negotiations fail, the union can apply for a vote, but it requires a majority vote of all union members in a direct, secret ballot, not just a majority vote. Preliminary surveys show 80% support for the strike, which is encouraging for the union, but does not guarantee that a formal vote covering all 10,000 members will pass.

This controversy illustrates who gets the value from the AI ​​chip supply chain.

The AI ​​memory supercycle has created staggering wealth, with Micron's market capitalization surpassing $1.1 trillion on September 1st. However, almost all of this wealth has flowed to capital—shareholders and senior executives—rather than to the employees who possess the irreplaceable TSV process technology that allows Micron to produce HBM at its current profit levels. Earlier in 2026, the labor agreement between Samsung and SK Hynix set a precedent, demonstrating that memory employees can fight for a formalized profit-sharing formula during an industry boom. The controversy surrounding Micron Taiwan will determine whether this precedent will extend from South Korea to Taiwan and could further impact other regions that rely on specialized personnel unavailable elsewhere to build critical AI infrastructure.