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Thu, 21 May 2026

Thu, 21 May 2026 Samsung strike on hold as workers push for AI bonus

The walkout, which was due to start on Thursday, has been suspended while union members vote on a tentative deal.
A last-minute deal was reached between the union, representing nearly 48,000 workers, and Samsung ahead of an industrial action that was due to begin on Thursday. Under the agreement, members will vote on the deal from May 22-27. The dispute centered around the distribution of profits generated by soaring demand for AI memory chips, with a bonus pay cap in place at Samsung that gave employees making memory chips bonuses six times higher than those in other units. The union argued that 23,000 workers who made less advanced chips should not be left behind. Samsung is the world's largest memory chipmaker and a major supplier of chips used in AI data centres, smartphones and laptops. The dispute comes at a sensitive moment for the company amid intensifying competition from rivals SK Hynix and Micron. A strike could have had significant implications for global supply chains and South Korea's export-driven economy. The union initially planned to go on strike due to concerns over potential disruption to chip production.