K-bonus wave? Micron Taiwan workers seek higher performance perks as Korean rivals lift payout limits.
Micron employees in Taiwan are pressing for bigger performance-based payouts and studying Korean union tactics as strike talk grows amid the AI chip boom.
Micron Technology's Taoyuan plant in TaiwanMICRON TECHNOLOGY
Micron Technology's employees in Taiwan are looking to Korea's semiconductor unions as they also push for bigger performance-based bonuses and weigh possible strike action.
The labor union at the U.S. chipmaker's Taoyuan plant held an information session on Thursday to discuss performance-based incentives amid the AI boom and share information about possible strike action, Taiwanese newspaper The Liberty Times reported on Saturday.
The union argued that Micron's current performance-based incentive system, which caps payouts at 200 percent of an employee's annual salary, has left workers feeling disadvantaged compared to employees at competitors such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The union also reportedly reviewed labor actions taken by Korean unions and discussed its own plans going forward.
SK hynix and its labor union previously agreed to use a fixed percentage of the company's operating profit to fund performance-based incentives without imposing a cap.
Samsung Electronics also introduced a special management performance incentive program for its Device Solutions division, which allows performance-based incentive payouts to exceed the existing cap when certain conditions are met.
Performance-based incentive disputes are not new to Taiwan's semiconductor industry.
TSMC, one of the world's largest contract chipmakers, also faced internal unrest in May after rumors circulated that employee performance-based incentives would be cut by 15 percent. The speculation fueled employee dissatisfaction and led the workers to openly call for the creation of a labor union and possible strike action — demands that had long been considered taboo under the company's management philosophy.
A worker walks past the logo of TSMC, a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Jan. 29.AP/YONHAP
As the controversy intensified, Dr. C.C. Wei, the chairman and CEO of TSMC, canceled an overseas business trip and held a town-hall meeting with his company’s employees.
"Performance-based incentives this year will increase 30 percent from last year," Wei said.
The town hall then turned to employee concerns over the company's long-term compensation policy.
"Can you promise that at least 10 percent of operating profit will be consistently distributed to employees going forward?" one employee asked during the town hall while discussing Samsung Electronics’ strike earlier in the year.
However, the CEO did not give the answer they were looking for.
"I can't," Wei replied. "Samsung Electronics' core DRAM business operates on a model in which one profitable year has to sustain the company for the next 10 years. TSMC operates under a different business model [as a contract chipmaker], so a direct comparison is difficult."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
