Samsung workers plan ‘indefinite’ strike to threaten global tech industry

(Bloomberg) — Samsung Electronics Co.’s union of more than 28,000 employees has called an indefinite strike, jeopardizing production at the world’s largest memory chip maker.

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The union’s call for a general strike is escalating a conflict with Korea’s largest corporation. Thousands of workers gathered outside Samsung’s chip production complex south of Seoul on Monday to mark the start of what was originally a three-day strike for better wages. It is the largest organized industrial action in the 50-year history of the South Korean conglomerate.

A Samsung representative was not immediately able to respond to a request for comment.

“Management has no desire for dialogue,” the union said in a statement on its website. “We have clearly identified disruptions in production and the company will regret this decision,” it said. “Management will eventually give in and come to the negotiating table.”

Samsung shares gave up earlier gains in Seoul on Wednesday, losing 0.2 percent. Much of Samsung’s production is automated, but the company cannot afford any production bottlenecks in the coming weeks. The company is trying to convince Nvidia Corp. to use its high-speed memory, a prerequisite for catching up with smaller rival SK Hynix Inc. in the booming AI field.

Samsung’s main union had been preparing for the strike for weeks after negotiations over wages and vacation entitlements failed last month. The strike was an escalation from a one-day strike in early June – the first in Samsung’s 55-year history.

The action is designed to press their demands by halting production at one of the company’s most advanced chip factories, union leaders said. It also coincides with Samsung’s biggest product launch of the year in Paris, where the company is expected to unveil new foldable phones and watches with AI and novel health-monitoring features.

(Updated with company comment, share reaction and background from third paragraph)

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