Samsung Electronics union threatens to walk out of pay talks if no mediation proposal
The two sides have so far failed to narrow their differences after marathon discussions under a government-brokered process.
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The company is sticking to its proposal to allocate 10% of operating profits to a performance bonus pool, union representative Choi Seung-ho told reporters.
He said that the mediation offer had been awaited for three hours.
Samsung was not immediately available for comment.
The union demanded that the company allocate 15% of operating profits to a performance bonus pool, remove the bonus cap, currently set at 50% of annual base salary, and continue such changes beyond this year.Also Read: Dua Lipa files $15 million lawsuit against Samsung for allegedly using her image to sell TVs
Samsung employees are outraged by what they call a huge gap in bonus pay with rival SK Hynix beating out Samsung to supply high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia for AI chip units after the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
SK Hynix lifted the salary cap last year, resulting in bonuses more than three times those offered to Samsung employees, leading to an increase in Samsung union membership.
Employee frustration has been exacerbated by Samsung’s record profits as the AI boom drives up demand for chips. Last week, Samsung became the second Asian company with a market value of more than $1 trillion, after TSMC.
