Micron pauses $4.5 billion Taiwan chip plant amid union dispute

A standoff with the Taoyuan union has halted construction on Fab 11E, a planned advanced DRAM facility aimed at AI-driven memory demand Micron Technology has hit pause on its planned $4.5 billion memory chip plant in Taiwan amid a labor fight that has escalated faster than most of the industry expected. The suspension, reported on November 5, 2026, covers Fab 11E in Taoyuan. That facility was meant to help Micron keep pace with the AI boom, which needs memory almost as badly as it needs electricity. What happened at Fab 11E Micron cited growing uncertainty around its labor negotiations as the reason for halting construction. The company says it has briefed Taiwanese officials and its suppliers on the situation. The trigger was a warning strike by the Taoyuan union on October 22. That walkout marked the first strike in Taiwan’s semiconductor sector. The union represents between 2,300 and 3,000 workers. The Taoyuan site itself employs about 3,000 people, so the union speaks for most of the local workforce. Its demands are ambitious. The union wants a one-time bonus worth 83 months’ salary, or nearly seven years of pay delivered in a single check. It also wants a profit-sharing mechan...