Micron (MU) shares fell 2.4% in Tuesday premarket trading after labor unions at the company’s Taiwan facilities said they were preparing for possible strike action over a bonus compensation dispute.

The unions represent employees at Micron sites in Taoyuan and Taichung, covering about 10,000 workers out of the company’s roughly 15,000-person Taiwan workforce. Taiwan is Micron’s main manufacturing hub for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory chips, making the labor talks especially relevant to a key part of the company’s global supply chain.

According to union representatives, an internal poll conducted in August found that more than 80% of participating members supported strike action. The dispute centers on how company profits should be distributed to workers.

Union leaders say Micron’s current Incentive Pay Plan does not adequately reflect the company’s profitability growth and does not provide enough transparency about how performance calculations are determined.

Micron workers in Taiwan are considering a strike over their bonuses. A recent survey found that 80% of workers support going on strike, the union wants Micron to introduce a profit-sharing system, similar to what Samsung and SK hynix already have. Samsung gives employees… pic.twitter.com/VC5p0iMcxJ — Pirat_Nation (@Pirat_Nation) August 29, 2026

For fiscal 2026, the unions are seeking a one-time special bonus distribution. Based on their calculations, they say the proposal would amount to about 83 months of salary for each Taiwan-based employee.

Beginning in fiscal 2027, union representatives want Micron to replace the current structure with a new framework that allocates 15% of operating profits to worker bonuses and shifts payments from an annual schedule to quarterly distributions.

Micron said its compensation package includes base wages, annual performance-based incentives, operational bonus programs and equity participation options. The company also said this year’s performance bonus payout will be the highest in its corporate history.

Competitor compensation models

Union officials pointed to profit-sharing arrangements at Samsung and SK Hynix as industry benchmarks. Samsung avoided an 18-day labor strike in South Korea in May after agreeing to a bonus structure equal to 10.5% of its semiconductor division’s operating profits. SK Hynix previously committed to distributing 10% of annual operating profits as employee bonuses.

Micron’s Taiwan union leadership said those agreements have widened the compensation gap between its members and workers at South Korean chipmakers.

Taiwan’s labor rules require mediation before a strike can legally begin, so an immediate work stoppage is not expected. The government-run Central Taiwan Science Park administration said it has staff in place to support negotiations and can begin official mediation if needed.

Financial context of the dispute

Micron reported record revenue of $41.46 billion and net earnings of $28.24 billion in its third fiscal quarter, which ended on May 28. As of Tuesday, the semiconductor company’s market capitalization was about $1.10 trillion.

The company has also pledged $250 billion for domestic U.S. manufacturing expansion through 2035.

Taiwanese government officials said Micron has invested NT$1.4 trillion, or $43.9 billion, across the island. Authorities warned that a strike could harm employees, disrupt Micron’s operations and affect Taiwan’s broader semiconductor supply chain.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te commented on the situation Tuesday, saying the semiconductor industry has grown through long-term cooperation and reaffirming Taiwan’s record of meeting its obligations to international supply networks.

Micron said it remains committed to ongoing dialogue with employees through established communication channels and will follow all relevant legal procedures.