Samsung chip workers vote to accept $340,000 average bonus, ending months-long strike threat — resentment over deal has slowed down Samsung foundry division

Source: Tom’s Hardware

Image credit: Getty / JUNG YEON-JE

Compensation Deal Overview

Samsung Electronics’ largest union ratified a compensation deal that will pay semiconductor workers an average bonus of roughly $340,000. About 74 % of union members voted in favor, just 90 minutes before an 18‑day general strike was set to begin.

The agreement allocates:

• 10.5 % of Samsung’s semiconductor division operating profit as stock‑based bonuses
• An additional 1.5 % in cash
• A 6.2 % average wage increase

The program runs for 10 years, contingent on the division meeting annual operating profit targets.

Financial Details

• Bloomberg projects Samsung’s 2026 semiconductor operating profit at ≈ 330 trillion won.
• The total bonus pool for the division’s 78,000 employees could reach ≈ 40 trillion won ($26.6 billion).

Impact on Workers

• Memory‑division employees could receive 600 million won ($400,000) each.
• Staff in Samsung’s smartphone, TV, and appliance divisions are looking at payouts of 6 million won ($4,000) each.

Only about 21 % of Samsung’s smaller union (representing mostly non‑chip staff) approved the agreement, highlighting lingering resentment.

Labor Unrest Background

• Earlier in April, more than 40,000 workers rallied, causing night‑shift fab output to fall by 58 %.
• Workers compared their compensation unfavorably to rival SK hynix, which offered more generous bonuses the previous year.

Aftermath and Ongoing Issues

• The dispute has spread to Samsung’s foundry and TSP (Test & Package) divisions, leading to work slowdowns, canceled meetings, and stalled decision‑making on major projects.
• TSP handles back‑end packaging and testing essential for high‑bandwidth memory (HBM). Disruptions could affect Samsung’s HBM4 production ramp for Nvidia’s next‑gen Rubin AI accelerators.

“I understand that the recent wage negotiation process and its outcome have left many of you feeling alienated, deprived, and perhaps disappointed or hurt by the company,” – TM Roh, Samsung DX division head, in an internal memo.

Industry Context

• On the same day the vote was confirmed, SK hynix and Micron each crossed the $1 trillion market‑cap mark, joining Samsung, which breached the threshold the previous month.
• Samsung now faces the challenge of keeping its memory, foundry, and packaging teams functional while a portion of employees received a historic windfall and others remain dissatisfied.