Samsung's negotiators argued in the transcripts that the bonus disparity reflects that, with Kim Hyung-ro, a vice president and management negotiator, telling the union that the logic chip divisions would have collapsed or shut down without the memory unit's profits. “So how can you justify giving performance bonuses?” he is quoted as saying in the transcripts.
Samsung chip workers reject $340,000 one-time bonus, demand annual payouts like SK hynix's $900,000
Union rally causes Samsung fab production to plummet by 58% during night shift as workers demand up to $400,000 bonuses
More than 30,000 Samsung union members take to the streets to demand higher cut of AI profits, an average of $400,000 per worker
Samsung has since replaced Kim Hyung-ro as its chief bargaining representative, reportedly at the union's insistence, and Chairman Jay Y. Lee issued a rare public apology on Saturday, cutting short an overseas trip to address the dispute in person.
Reuters has also reportedly spoken with workers who described shrinking teams in Samsung's foundry operations at Pyeongtaek, with engineers departing for both SK hynix and Micron. This confirms what union chairman Choi said last month, when he highlighted that roughly 200 Samsung employees moved to SK hynix over the previous four months alone.
SK hynix set a market benchmark last September when it agreed to allocate 10% of annual operating profit directly to employees for the next decade and removed caps on performance payouts. Based on 2026 profit forecasts, that deal translates to average per-worker bonuses approaching $477,000 this year, with projections nearly doubling in 2027. Samsung's union is demanding a similar structure : 15% of operating profit allocated to a bonus pool, the removal of the existing 50% cap, and formalization in employment contracts.
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Reference reading
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- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/leaked-samsung-meeting-transcripts-show-memory-workers-offered-607-percent-bonus#main
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