Taipei (AFP) - Hundreds of workers at a Micron Technology plant in Taiwan have voted to strike, their union said on Wednesday, after talks with the US memory chip giant over bonus reforms collapsed.

Global chip companies, including Micron, have been major beneficiaries of soaring demand for artificial intelligence.

However, as their earnings skyrocket, many workers are demanding a bigger cut of profits.

Micron, which makes around 50-60 percent of its chips in Taiwan, has been locked in talks over remuneration with two labour unions representing 12,000 of the 15,000 workers at its Taoyuan and Taichung plants.

The unions are seeking a one-off bonus of 83 months’ salary as well as a permanent system that allocates 15 percent of the company’s operating profits to worker bonuses, distributed quarterly rather than annually.

Micron said last month it would give the equivalent of up to 68 months of pay to staff but the one-off payment was rejected by workers.

Members of the union in Taoyuan have “obtained the legal right to conduct a strike and establish strike picket lines”, union secretary Chen Yen-kai told a news conference.

Almost 90 percent of the 2,258 eligible union members at the Taoyuan plant voted in favour of strike action, according to figures given by Chen.

Jerry Lin, head of the Taoyuan union, said the union has yet to set a strike date, but noted that a “surprise strike” could be called via text message to members.

He urged Micron in the meantime to present “a concrete proposal” following its board meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday (US time) before the union “formally proceeds to a strike”.

“What we want is to establish an open and transparent profit-sharing system,” Lin said, rejecting the company’s one-off bonus, which he said left employees “at the mercy of management”.

The Taichung union, which represents around 11,000 workers at the larger plant, told AFP its talks with Micron would continue as scheduled, despite the strike plan in Taoyuan.

The unions said Micron’s one-off payment offer last month was insufficient and “clearly lagging behind” its competitors.

- Insatiable demand -

Insatiable global appetite for the silicon components used in AI data centres – especially memory chips, which are in short supply – has sent revenues soaring for firms that design, produce and assemble them.

The Micron unions’ demands follow recent labour disputes in South Korea, where Samsung Electronics averted a strike by agreeing to a deal to distribute bonuses equivalent to 10.5 percent of operating profit to its semiconductor employees.

That agreement means around 78,000 employees from Samsung’s 125,000-strong domestic workforce are eligible to receive a bonus of roughly $370,000 this year, based on a market estimate of profits.

Micron has also seen stellar financial results.

The US company posted record revenue of around $133 billion for fiscal 2026 – up 256 percent from $37 billion the previous year.

Micron said it hears “the concerns our team members have raised” and will “take them seriously”.

“We remain committed to listening to our team members and engaging with our unions in good faith,” the company said.

Micron has said more than NT$1.6 trillion ($50 billion) has been invested in Taiwan, describing the island as its “critical hub”.