Micron Halts $4.5 Billion Taiwan DRAM Fab Over Union Strike

Micron has suspended construction of a $4.5 billion memory chip plant in Taiwan after the sector's first-ever strike. The pause, reported on November 5, 2026, covers Fab 11E in Taoyuan, a facility designed to feed AI-driven demand for advanced DRAM.

The company cited growing uncertainty around labor negotiations. It says it has briefed Taiwanese officials and suppliers on the situation. Operations at its other Taiwanese sites continue as normal.

What triggered the stoppage?

A warning strike by the Taoyuan union on October 22 set events in motion. That walkout was the first strike in Taiwan's semiconductor sector — a precedent that does not disappear once one deal is signed.

The union represents between 2,300 and 3,000 workers. The Taoyuan site employs about 3,000 people, so the union speaks for most of the local workforce.

Its demands are unusually large:

• A one-time bonus worth 83 months' salary, nearly seven years of pay in a single check
• A profit-sharing mechanism granting workers 15% of quarterly operating profits

Micron tabled counter-offers. The union judged them inadequate.

What does this change for Micron?

Taiwan carries half of Micron's production. The island accounts for 50% to 60% of the company's total output, and Micron employs approximately 15,000 workers there. Its cumulative investment exceeds NT$1.6 trillion — around $50 billion — making it the largest foreign investor in the region.

The pause could limit Micron's ability to respond to AI-driven memory demand. If delays drag on, they could contribute to supply tightness and weaken Micron's position against Samsung and SK Hynix, its direct competitors in the race to add DRAM capacity.

Why Fab 11E mattered

Fab 11E was designed to use extreme ultraviolet lithography to produce advanced DRAM. DRAM is the fast, short-term memory that computers and servers use while working. AI systems consume huge quantities of it, which is why memory makers have been racing to expand output.

The plant's budget has been reported in a range of $3 billion to $4.5 billion. Some sources note total spending could reach the higher figure once equipment from ASML, the Dutch lithography toolmaker, is included.

Is there a path to resolution?

Not every Micron site in Taiwan is in conflict. The larger Taichung union reached a labor-management agreement with the company on October 21 — one day before the Taoyuan warning strike.

That agreement offers a possible template. If Micron and the Taoyuan union find terms somewhere between the current offers and the 83-month bonus request, construction could resume. If not, further strikes remain on the table.

The standoff has escalated faster than most of the industry expected. For now, one of the largest AI memory capacity projects on the island sits idle, and the bargaining continues.