Samsung union says strike to go ahead after mediation efforts fail
Samsung Electronics' largest union said its strike will go ahead after government mediation reached an impasse. Around 50,000 members will walk out over wages and performance bonuses. The action could ripple through the global chip supply chain.
Samsung Electronics' largest union, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), said Tuesday it will press ahead with strike action after South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor mediation reached an impasse. The NSEU has roughly 50,000 members, about 35 percent of Samsung's domestic chip and mobile workforce. The walkout is expected to start Thursday.
The dispute centres on the size of the base pay rise and the formula for annual performance bonuses. The NSEU is asking for a 6.5 percent base pay rise; Samsung has offered 3.5 percent. Bonuses in the semiconductor division were paid at 75 percent of base salary last year, and the union wants that ratio guaranteed. The company has said it needs flexibility amid global competition.
Samsung said it will continue running its HBM and advanced logic fabs at Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong during the action, but analysts said a prolonged strike could create disruption. Samsung supplies more than half of the HBM3E memory used in Nvidia's AI accelerators. SK Hynix and Micron have moved to provide alternative supply, and coordination talks with ASML and TSMC have begun.
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