SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Samsung Electronics union members on Wednesday approved a deal with management securing massive annual bonuses after threatening a major strike, as the global artificial intelligence boom causes the South Korean chip giant’s profits to soar.
It means that around 78,000 employees from the company’s 125,000-strong domestic workforce are eligible to receive a bonus of roughly $370,000 this year, based on a market estimate of annual operating profit.
Samsung’s largest workers’ union said in a statement that more than 73 percent of its members had backed the agreement in an electronic vote held over six days.
The deal was struck at the last minute last week to avert an 18-day strike that had raised fears over the impact on South Korea’s economy.
Frenzied demand for the memory chips that power AI data centers has turbocharged Samsung’s earnings.
The firm in April said first-quarter operating profit soared roughly 750 percent year-on-year, while its market value topped $1 trillion for the first time this month.
Under the union’s 10-year deal — which is tied to ambitious performance targets — annual bonuses for employees in the semiconductor division would amount to 10.5 percent of their segment’s operating profit.
The bonuses will be paid in shares, alongside an additional 1.5 percent in cash.
‘Golden ticket’
The new bonus scheme has fueled tensions among workers in other divisions, who will receive different rewards under the deal, as well as subsidiaries and shareholders.
The prospect of a strike had sparked wider concerns in South Korea, where Samsung Electronics alone accounts for around 12.5 percent of gross domestic product and memory chips make up about 35 percent of exports.
It has also fanned a debate over how AI profits should be distributed.
A senior presidential official has floated the idea of a “national dividend” — arguing that excess AI-related tax revenue could be used to support social welfare programs.
Analysts say large bonuses could help prevent engineering talent from moving abroad, as United States firms such as Tesla ramp up investment in AI chips.
