Samsung employees are preparing for a massive strike. The strike, planned to last 18 days, could lead to new crises in the global chip supply. Employees are demanding higher wages.
Samsung Electronics' largest labor union approved a strike plan that could begin on May 21st, following a vote. The union announced that 93% of the 66,019 workers who voted approved the strike plan. If an agreement cannot be reached between the parties, an 18-day strike will take place.
Employees demand higher wages
The union is demanding that Samsung lift its bonus cap and link the bonus pool to operating profit, citing SK Hynix's compensation reforms implemented last September as an example. A 7% increase in basic wages is also being sought. Currently, bonuses are limited to 50% of employees' annual salaries. Samsung stated that such a change would make it difficult to finance future investments and shareholder returns. The company offered a 6.2% wage increase and a special bonus equivalent to their basic wage for every 100 trillion won in annual operating profit for employees in the memory chip division.
Chip supply chain in danger
Samsung's strike could lead to new bottlenecks in the global semiconductor supply chain. Especially the increasing demand for AI data centers is restricting chip supply in the automotive, computer, and smartphone sectors. Samsung produces all of its DRAM chips and two-thirds of its NAND chips in South Korea. The company is the world's largest memory manufacturer.
The company announced that it would do its best to conclude the 2026 wage negotiations amicably. However, experts state that lifting the bonus cap could increase wage inequality, especially in units where earnings are slowing due to chip costs, such as phones and televisions.
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