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The unions of Samsung's memory chip division have reached an agreement for its more than 62,000 employees, following months of difficult negotiations. They will receive a bonus of six months' salary.
The huge demand for memory chips for AI applications isn't harming Samsung: driven mainly by the growth of the memory chip division, sales rose 70% in the first quarter of 2026 to some 77 billion euros. Operating profit was eight times higher than in the same period of last year. Samsung's chip division posted a record profit of some 31 billion euros.
Following difficult negotiations, the unions have now reached an agreement on a mega bonus to be given to the 62,000 chip division employees: they will receive a bonus of half a year's salary plus shares financed from 10.5% of profits tied to profit targets through 2035. The unions could put pressure on the company by referring to the bonuses paid at competitor SK Hynix: there, some employees can count on bonuses of up to more than $400,000 this year.
However, the agreement is causing discontent: employees at other Samsung divisions also get hefty bonuses, but they are still much lower. "Many of us have lost the motivation to work. It's quite ironic: we are miserable despite getting more money," the British news agency Reuters noted from an employee at a chip factory in Pyeongtaek.
Economists fear that other unions in South Korea's technology sector will now also demand high bonuses.
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