Overview
- Tens of thousands of employees rallied at Samsung’s Pyeongtaek chip campus on Thursday, with unions counting up to 40,000 and police estimating about 34,000.
- Organizers warned they will strike for 18 days from May 21 to June 7 if talks fail, saying the walkout could halt shipments and raise memory prices.
- The unions want Samsung to scrap a 50% cap on bonuses, allocate 15% of annual operating profit to performance pay, and lift base pay by 7%.
- Samsung rejects a fixed payout ratio and has offered 10% of operating profit plus extra funds for the memory unit, and it filed a court injunction on April 16 while warning it will sue over interference with safety systems.
- Union membership has surged past 90,000 after SK Hynix removed its bonus cap last year, and analysts say a prolonged stoppage could disrupt AI chip supply even if automation and subcontractors limit the hit.