Samsung union’s strike threat fuels fears of South Korea’s economic slowdown
The AI boom and SK Hynix’s profit-sharing arrangement with its workers have reportedly galvanised Samsung’s biggest union to take action
The union has warned it will stage an 18-day walkout from May 21 to June 7, raising concerns about production disruptions, customer defections and wider fallout across the global technology supply chain.
Samsung Electronics and union representatives failed to reach an agreement on Wednesday after two days of government-led mediation talks, which were widely viewed as a last-ditch effort to avert a strike.
The company expressed regret over the collapse of negotiations and said it hoped to continue “sincere dialogue” with the union.
Union leaders, however, said they would not return to the negotiating table until after the planned strike unless Samsung Electronics made significant concessions.
However, the company argued that allocating a fixed proportion of operating profits to employee bonuses could weaken its ability to invest during future downturns in the notoriously cyclical semiconductor industry.