Thousands of Samsung workers gathered outside the company’s foundry and semiconductor factory in Hwaseong, South Korea, on Monday, donning rain jackets and solidarity ribbons, to protest pay and benefits.
The three-day general strike, led by the National Samsung Electronics Union, affects over 5,200 workers from factory facilities, manufacturing, and development.
The strike comes after failed negotiations between the union and management since January, with the union rejecting a 5.1% pay raise offer. “Today’s general strike is just the beginning,” said Son Woo-mok, union head. “We are now at a critical crossroads.”
The union, representing over 30,000 members, demands improvements to annual leave and transparent performance-based bonuses. Samsung declined comment, but business professor Kim Dae-jong warned that the strike could impact chip production and pose a significant risk to Samsung’s dominance in the competitive chips market.
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, accounts for a substantial chunk of global high-end chip output. Semiconductors are South Korea’s leading export, and demand for advanced chips has skyrocketed due to the success of generative AI products.
This strike marks a historic moment for Samsung, which avoided unionization for almost 50 years. The union formation in the late 2010s was a significant milestone. As the strike continues, its impact on Samsung’s production line and the global chip market remains to be seen.
