Micron, union negotiate ‘sincerely’: Lai

IN GOOD FAITH: Lai said he appreciates Micron’s commitment to Taiwan and that it would continue expanding its investment in the country, while also working with labor

President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for US memory maker Micron Technology Inc and its workers to negotiate “sincerely” ahead of a possible strike by the company’s union in Taiwan.

Last week, a Taiwanese union representing workers at Micron said it had secured authorization from its members to strike over a dispute concerning the company’s bonus scheme, escalating a labor conflict at the chipmaker’s largest manufacturing hub.

Micron employs about 15,000 people in Taiwan and has said it invested more than NT$1.6 trillion (US$49.6 billion) in the country.

Speaking in Taichung at the opening of a new Micron advanced assembly and testing facility, Lai said he hoped the government and the private sector could work together to promote better communication between labor and management.

“We also hope both labor and management will uphold the spirit that fish need water and water needs fish, continuing to negotiate sincerely and in good faith to build the broadest possible consensus,” he added.

“Only by creating harmonious labor relations can both sides win, allowing employees to work with peace of mind and businesses to move steadily and go further,” he said.

Lai said he appreciated Micron’s commitment to Taiwan and hoped it would continue investing in the country, adding that Micron had secured government support for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) research and development.

Taiwan is a crucial production hub for Micron’s DRAM and HBM chips, which are used in artificial intelligence servers.

“Micron values its team members and remains committed to listening to their perspectives and engaging with them constructively,” the company said in a statement, when asked about Lai’s remarks.

Micron’s Taichung union said that it looked forward to the company engaging in “more substantive dialogue and negotiations” with them.

Micron president and chief operating officer Manish Bhatia made no mention of a possible strike action in his comments delivered shortly before Lai’s.

“We have already sold out all the capacity for 2027 that this factory will build and we expect high-bandwidth memory to grow faster than the rest of the DRAM industry all the way through 2028,” he said.

Last week, the two unions representing workers at Micron’s Taoyuan and Taichung operations said they hoped the company would put forward a concrete profit-sharing proposal for employees.

Mediation with the Taoyuan union ended without agreement last month, while the Taichung union remains in negotiations.

The unions are encouraging members to take a day off on Monday to join a rally in Taipei, which they said would not be a strike.

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