… The workers stand to earn massive bonuses worth millions of dollars if Samsung agrees to the union's demands, but the company called the union's terms "unacceptable." It said in a statement that the reason an agreement couldn't be reached was because "accepting the labor union's excessive demands … …
… The deal comes after months of escalating labor unrest centered on employee bonuses . Labor unions demanded a revision of Samsung’s bonus structure that would allow employees to earn more, as the company’s profits surge amid the AI-driven semiconductor boom. …
… Workers' bonuses are contingent on the memory division making at least KRW 200 trillion $133 billion in profit from 2026 to 2028 and KRW 100 trillon $66 billion from 2029 to 2035. Samsung will pay part of those bonuses in company stock for at least 10 years. …
… The labor union had demanded the company allocate 15% of operating profit to bonuses for all workers, not just those at the memory chip division that supplies Tesla, Nvidia, and other big tech companies. “As the AI industry drives record operating profits, union members are in a structure where the… …
Samsung Electronics is facing a major labor dispute after wage negotiations with its labor union reportedly collapsed, setting the stage for a planned 18-day strike beginning May 21. …
… Samsung is facing employee protests over demands for wages that are more competitive with rival chip manufacturer SK Hynix, including removing Samsung’s cap on bonus pay, allocating more money for bonuses, and raising base salaries. …
… Exact terms of the agreement have not been fully disclosed, but the dispute centered on performance bonuses . The union had pushed for Samsung to allocate 15% of annual operating profit to employee bonuses and scrap a 50% annual salary cap on performance payouts. …
… They estimate that allocating 10% to 15% of operating profit as performance bonuses and raising base salaries by 5% would generate KRW 21 trillion to KRW 39 trillion $14.3 billion to $26.5 billion in additional labor costs above current projections. …
… Most SK Hynix employees are receiving yearly bonuses of nearly 3,000 percent of their monthly base salary—with a one-time payout equivalent to almost half a million US dollars for many of them—following a phenomenally profitable 2025 and successful labor negotiations last year. …