Samsung union starts three-day strike for better bonus payments

Further strikes possible if demands are not met

Leading union leader Lee Hyun-kuk announced in a YouTube post last week that the first three-day industrial action could be followed by more strikes if workers’ demands are not met.

The exact number of strike participants is still unclear.

Parallel to the strike, a rally is planned near Samsung’s headquarters in Hwaseong, south of Seoul.

Strike unlikely to affect chip production

Despite the ongoing strike, analysts believe that Samsung’s chip production will not be significantly affected.

This is because most processes at Samsung, the world’s largest memory chip manufacturer, are automated.

The union had previously used its annual leave in a strike last month, but the strike reportedly had no impact on Samsung’s production or operations.

Strike means lower employee loyalty

Analysts point out that while the strike may have minimal impact on production, it still represents a decline in employee loyalty at Samsung.

This comes at a difficult time for the company, which is facing intense competition in chips for artificial intelligence applications.

Despite a more than 15-fold increase in operating profit in the second quarter due to the recovery in semiconductor prices following an AI boom, the company’s share price performance is lagging behind South Korean chip rival SK Hynix.