Samsung union demands $30 billion in bonuses and prepares for strike - Korean media

The Samsung Electronics union is demanding 15% of the company's annual operating profit in the form of performance bonuses. This was reported by UNN with reference to The Korea Herald.

Details

This amount could reach 45 trillion South Korean won (30.3 billion dollars - ed.) and exceed the chipmaker's total research and development expenditures last year.

The media also reports that the union has scheduled a rally at Samsung's semiconductor manufacturing campus in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on April 23, and plans an 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7 if an agreement is not reached.

The strike threat is particularly significant as global tech companies have entered into long-term memory supply contracts, backed by substantial upfront payments. Production delays could lead to penalties and the redirection of new orders to competitors. Samsung has already lost ground due to delays in certifying its fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory chips for Nvidia. Industry experts warn that redirected demand could be captured by Chinese DRAM manufacturers and the American company Micron.

At the same time, the situation escalated on April 10, when Samsung announced that lists with names and identification numbers of non-unionized employees had been circulated in company group chats, and filed a criminal complaint regarding a violation of personal data protection legislation.

Recall

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated that access to the American market for Taiwanese and South Korean companies would depend on their willingness to build factories within the United States.