Even tech giants aren’t immune to U.S.-China trade strains — and the memory sector is no exception. After reportedly cutting over 300 jobs in China as part of a global retreat from its struggling mobile NAND business, Micron is now exiting China’s server chip market, Reuters reports, following a 2023 ban that froze its products out of critical infrastructure and stifled recovery.

The report notes that Micron was the first U.S. chipmaker to be hit by China’s countermeasures, preceding the more recent scrutiny of NVIDIA and Intel. The South China Morning Post added that the U.S. memory giant has long stood at the center of U.S.-China tech tensions—becoming the first foreign chipmaker to face a cybersecurity probe in China and a partial sales ban in May 2023.

Citing sources, Reuters adds that Micron’s data center team in China employs over 300 people, though it remains unclear how many roles will be affected by the exit. As per South China Morning Post, the company employed over 3,000 staff in mainland China, with roughly two-thirds based in Xi’an, where it keeps expanding its chip packaging facility.

Notably, Reuters says Micron will continue serving two Chinese clients with major data center operations outside the mainland, including laptop maker Lenovo. The U.S. chipmaker, which pulled in $3.4 billion—or 12% of its total revenue—from mainland China last fiscal year, will also keep supplying automotive and smartphone customers in the Chinese market, the report adds.

Rivals and Local Players Gain

As Reuters highlights, the move not only keeps Micron sidelined from China’s data center boom, but also benefits rivals Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as well as local players YMTC and CXMT.

Samsung and SK hynix’s China fabs focus on general-purpose chips, not advanced products like HBM. However, the country is still a crucial product hub for both memory giants.

According to TrendForce, around 30–35% of Samsung’s total NAND output is expected to come from China in 2025. On the other hand, TrendForce projects that by 2025, about 35–40% of SK hynix’s DRAM output will come from China. For SK hynix, China plays an even bigger role in NAND production, expected to account for 40–45% of its total NAND output in 2025, as noted by TrendForce.