May. 8 at 5:22 PM
Samsung edging toward historic strike
Employees are protesting for a bonus equal to 15% of operating profits, threatening an 18-day general strike starting May 21st if demands aren't met.
Management initially offered a 10% bonus, which workers rejected as a "diversionary tactic."
Workers demand higher payouts than SK hynix, citing Samsung's industry leadership. They also want a standardized system ensuring equal payouts across all business units to avoid future negotiations for the memory division
A full strike could cost Samsung
$6.9B–
$11.7B in direct losses. Indirect damage would be massive, impacting over 1,700 suppliers
Samsung’s market cap hit
$1T this week following a record 1Q26 net profit of
$32.6B (up 6x y/y)
Samsung Electronics & SK hynix together represent over 40% of the Kospi index's total value
Update: Samsung raised its offer to 13%, but talks have collapsed again. Samsung pledged to beat rivals' bonuses & review the payout system later
Note: SK hynix avg payouts are roughly
$475,000 (Won700M). Mid-level workers there expect
$170K–
$200K vs just
$30K (Won45M) at Samsung.
SK hynix operates as a pure-play chipmaker, while Samsung’s margins are diluted by less profitable sectors like appliances & smartphones. The chip workers are effectively arguing that they shouldn't be "penalized" for the overhead of the less profitable sectors
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