Samsung Labor Talks Collapse as Risks to Chip Supplies Rise
Employees enter the Samsung Electronics Co. semiconductor manufacturing plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergSamsung Electronics Co. failed to reach a last-minute wage agreement with its largest labor union, heightening the risk of a strike that could disrupt operations at the world’s largest memory chipmaker.
The breakdown in talks came after two days of marathon negotiations mediated by South Korean labor authorities. Both sides remain sharply divided over the size of bonuses tied to booming AI-related earnings. The union has demanded that Samsung scrap an existing bonus cap, allocate 15% of its operating profit to worker bonuses and formalize those terms in employment contracts. The company’s shares fell as much as 6.1% in Seoul.