Micron’s Plan to Spend $35 Billion on Stock Buybacks Is a Slap in the Face to Its Employees

Micron is one of the biggest chip makers in the United States. Its profits are surging as spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure creates unprecedented demand for memory chips. The company anticipates over $85 billion in profits for FY 2026 – nine times higher than last year.

The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act prohibited semiconductor companies from spending taxpayer money to enrich shareholders. Through that legislation, Micron received more than $6 billion in federal grants to build and expand its U.S. semiconductor operations. As a consequence, Micron’s ability to buy back stock was limited for two years – until December 8, 2026.

Micron’s board of directors didn’t wait very long. On October 8, the board authorized up to $35.16 billion to repurchase shares beginning December 9. That’s the highest amount in the company’s history.

Just two days earlier, Micron’s workers in Taiwan voted to authorize their union to strike if a new agreement on profit-sharing can’t be reached. The timing shows the extent of management’s callousness towards its workforce and its brazen corporate greed.

Workers’ modest request was a 15 percent share of the profits their labor enabled, following in the footsteps of the precedent-setting gains that SK hynix and Samsung workers reached with their respective management.

Stock buybacks are a once-illegal financial maneuver that artificially inflates the value of a company’s share price – and the value of the CEO’s stock-based pay. 

With their massive stock buyback plan, Micron is sending a message to their employees that management will use its profits to enrich shareholders and executives instead of rewarding their hard work. What a slap in the face to Micron’s Taiwan workers (and all Micron employees) struggling to get their fair share.

Ironically, Micron and the other semiconductor companies loudly gripe about a serious shortage of qualified employees. The Semiconductor Industry Association just released a report complaining that the US faces a significant shortage of technicians, computer scientists, and engineers, projecting a shortfall of 67,000 workers in the semiconductor industry by 2030.

One has to wonder, has it ever occurred to Micron and the other semiconductor companies that if they shared more of their profits with employees, there wouldn’t be such a shortage of skilled labor?

This commentary was originally published by CHIPS Communities United.