Samsung unions voted in favor of deal that will give chip workers $400,000 in bonuses - Engadget

Two major Samsung unions approved a wage agreement for chip division workers, with 73.7% of 62,616 members voting during a six-day period starting May 22. Bonuses are expected to reach up to KRW 600 million per employee, with Samsung projected to generate up to KRW 300 trillion in operating profit this year. Samsung plans to distribute KRW 40 trillion for payouts, averaging around $340,000 per employee. Bonuses will be paid in company stock over at least 10 years, contingent on memory division profit thresholds from 2026–2028 and 2029–2035. The largest union had threatened an 18-day strike starting May 21 after failing to reach a bonus agreement, but a deal was reached about an hour before the strike, with mediation by the labor minister.

"Samsung's two largest unions have voted in favor of a wage agreement that will give the company's chip workers up to $400,000 in bonuses this year. According to Yonhap News, 73.7 percent of the two unions' 62,616 members voted to approve the deal during a six-day voting period that started on May 22. While the union hasn't released formal numbers for the bonuses, Samsung is expected to rake in up to KRW 300 trillion in operating profit this year, which leads payouts of up to KRW 600 million ($400,000) for each of the 28,000 employees in the company's chip division."

"Samsung is slated to distribute KRW 40 trillion ($26.6 billion) for the payouts, and they average more around $340,000 per employee based on its calculation. Regardless of the actual amount, people in Samsung's top moneymaking division will be getting bonuses around thrice as large as their annual pay. The company will be paying out the bonuses in company stock over at least 10 years, contingent on the memory division making at least KRW 200 trillion ($133 billion) in annual profit from 2026 to 2028 and KRW 100 trillon ($66 billion) from 2029 to 2035."

"Samsung's largest union threatened to walk out for an 18-day strike starting on May 21 after it failed to reach an agreement with the company over the issue of bonuses. The union has 48,000 members, most of whom work for the company's chip division. A walkout could have had a huge impact not just on Samsung, but also on South Korea as a whole, seeing as the company accounts for 12.5 percent of the country's GDP. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that he expected direct losses from the 18-day strike to reach approximately KRW 1 trillion ($669 million)."

"The parties reached a deal a mere hour before the strike was set to begin, with help from South Korean Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon who stepped in to serve as mediator. Despite the majority voting in favor of the agreement, Bloomberg reported that the bonus struct"

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