Samsung Stock at Risk as 40,000 Workers Rally Over Pay Gap With SK Hynix

TLDR

• Samsung workers staged their largest-ever rally — around 40,000 attended — at the Pyeongtaek factory complex on April 23, 2026.
• The union plans an 18-day strike from May 21 if wage demands are not met, which could disrupt AI chip production and delay customer shipments.
• Workers are angry over a large bonus pay gap with rival SK Hynix, with Samsung employees receiving less than a third of equivalent SK Hynix bonuses.
• Union membership has surpassed 90,000 workers, now representing over 70% of Samsung’s South Korean workforce.
• Key demands include scrapping the 50% bonus cap, allocating 15% of operating profit to bonuses, and a 7% base salary hike — all of which management has so far rejected.

Samsung workers are threatening an 18-day strike over a widening pay gap with SK Hynix, in what could be the company’s most disruptive labour action yet.

The Rally

Tens of thousands of Samsung Electronics workers gathered at the Pyeongtaek factory campus south of Seoul on Thursday, April 23. Union organisers put the attendance at 40,000, making it the largest protest in the company’s history.

Workers wore black vests during the mass sit-in. The demonstration reflects growing frustration that has been building since Samsung employees walked out for the first time ever in 2024.

If the union’s demands are not met, workers plan to strike for 18 consecutive days starting May 21. That timeline would cut into AI chip production and could delay shipments to major customers.

The AI boom has pushed Samsung’s profits to record levels. Yet many workers feel they have not shared in that success, especially compared to colleagues at rival SK Hynix.

Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., 0L2T.L

SK Hynix got ahead of Samsung in supplying high bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia and others after the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. That head start translated into bigger profits — and bigger bonuses for its workers.

The Pay Gap Driving It All

The numbers tell the story. A Samsung chip division employee earning a base salary of 76 million won would receive roughly 38 million won in bonus pay for 2025. A similar employee at SK Hynix would receive more than three times that amount.

Multiple workers at the rally said colleagues had already left for SK Hynix. The talent drain concern is now central to the union’s argument.

In September, SK Hynix agreed to union demands for compensation reform, including scrapping its cap on bonus pay entirely. That move inflamed Samsung workers and sparked a surge in union membership.

Samsung’s union now counts more than 90,000 members — over 70% of the company’s South Korean workforce.

What the Union Wants

The union is asking for three main things: the removal of Samsung’s 50% annual salary bonus cap, an allocation of 15% of annual operating profit as bonus pay, and a 7% increase in base salaries.

Management has pushed back. Samsung has offered to allocate 10% of operating profit for performance pay and has proposed additional funding to ensure memory division employees out-earn rival workers this year.

Samsung said it would continue working toward a swift agreement in wage negotiations.

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