Two weeks ago, the negotiation process had broken down and a strike seemed imminent. The impact of the work stoppage can be felt globally. Since Samsung and its main Korean rival in this area, SK Hynix are two of the three companies that make high bandwidth memory (HBM) on which leading AI companies depend, demand is expected to exceed supply over the next year or so and a potential strike causing significant supply chain disruptions in HBM and other components was on the table.
Bonus increases at SK Hynix last year triggered Samsung’s events. Union activity increased after Samsung employees learned of a union deal that reportedly meant SK Hynix employees were eligible for six-figure bonuses in 2025. Samsung has now given workers a similar deal — Bloomberg estimates that 57,302 Samsung Chip workers will earn an average bonus of 513 million won, or $340,000.
Yonhap news agency’s estimate is slightly higher: “600 million won for each of the 28,000 employees in the chip division.”
That’s a little less than $400,000 each.
Samsung’s revenue is reportedly the 19th highest in the world. According to Bloomberg, it is expected to become the second largest company after Saudi Aramco in the ranking of operating profits this year. Bloomberg also says shares were up 8% when the deal was approved.
According to AJP news agency, the deal also includes a home loan option with an increase of 6.2%.
According to AJP, 73.7% of members voted to approve the deal. That agency also noted that as of Wednesday morning, Samsung shares “reached new highs” and were up 6.7%.
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