Samsung Union Vote Lands Big Chip Bonuses, But Sparks an Internal Backlash

The New York Times, the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, the Independent, and the Wall Street Journal contributed to this report.

Samsung Electronics’ union has approved a government-brokered pay deal that hands memory-chip workers some huge AI-era bonuses and helps avert a major strike. But inside the company, the reaction is far from celebratory.

The agreement almost guarantees hefty payouts for employees in Samsung’s top-performing chip division, where profits have surged on the back of the global AI boom. Some workers are reportedly in line for bonuses worth about $416,000. That has other Samsung employees – especially in phones, TVs and appliances – saying they were left behind.

The vote passed on Wednesday, giving Samsung its first major union win. It also marks only the second time a big South Korean company has agreed in writing to tie bonuses to a fixed share of operating profit.

Samsung’s deal sets aside 10.5% of semiconductor operating profit for special bonuses, a move that brings it closer to rival SK Hynix, which has already been using profit-linked payouts. The company also scrapped a cap that limited special bonuses to 50% of a worker’s salary.

That may be good news for chip workers. For everyone else, not so much.

A union representing Samsung’s consumer electronics staff has already gone to court to try to block the agreement, arguing it was excluded from the final talks. Other groups inside the company have also pushed back, saying the payout formula favors memory-chip staff while leaving other divisions with much less.

The split has exposed a bigger problem for Samsung: AI money is pouring into the chip business, but not evenly across the company. Even some workers in semiconductor units are frustrated that foundry and logic-chip staff will not get the same kind of windfall as memory workers.

The tension is not staying inside Samsung. Across South Korea, unions at major companies are watching closely – and making their own demands. At Kakao, LG Uplus, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Biologics, labor groups are pushing for a slice of operating profit to be built into bonuses too.

That has already started to worry business leaders and even President Lee Jae Myung, who warned that companies and investors do not normally share earnings before taxes this way. Employers say Samsung’s deal is a special case. Unions seem to see it as a starting point.

Samsung is trying to calm the bigger storm around it. On Wednesday, it said it would create a $3 billion fund to support suppliers, disadvantaged groups and future talent in South Korea.

Still, the message from workers is clear: once one part of the company gets paid like AI royalty, the rest do not stay quiet for long.