Samsung has reached a tentative agreement regarding employee bonuses, preventing a strike that could have involved nearly 48,000 workers. The labor union representing these employees in South Korea had planned an 18-day strike, which would have significantly affected Samsung's memory chip production, a key revenue driver for the company.
From May 22 to May 27, union members will vote on the proposed deal. While the agreement includes the abolition of a cap on bonuses, Samsung will allocate 10.5 percent of its annual operating profits to the bonus pool, which is below the union's request of 15 percent but higher than what rival SK Hynix offers. Specifically, 40 percent of the bonus pool is designated for memory division workers, with the remainder divided among other units.
The bonuses are contingent on the memory division achieving substantial profit targets, including KRW 200 trillion (approximately $133 billion) from 2026 to 2028 and KRW 100 trillion (roughly $66 billion) from 2029 to 2035. Part of the bonuses will be paid in company stock over the next decade. Samsung expressed a commitment to fostering a more constructive relationship with its employees following this agreement.