A major union at Samsung Electronics called the first strike in the history of the South Korean semiconductor and consumer electronics giant on Wednesday.
“We can no longer stand the persecution of unions. We are declaring a strike over the company’s neglect of workers,” the Samsung Electronics National Union said at a press conference.
“We tried to resolve the problem through dialogue,” said the union, which represents about 20% of the group’s workforce, or around 28,000 people. He also accused management of “company interference in the peaceful struggle we have waged so far.”
Samsung Electronics is the flagship of the giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-owned conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Management and the union have been holding negotiations on wages since January, without being able to overcome their differences.
This strike will be the very first in the history of the group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of smartphones and one of the rare producers of high value-added memories used for generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Samsung Electronics increased its operating profit almost tenfold in the first quarter of 2024, thanks precisely to strong sales of these advanced products intended for AI.
South Korean chipmakers, led by Samsung, have posted record profits in recent years as the prices of their products soared.
The slowdown in the global economy subsequently dealt a blow to semiconductor sales, but these are expected to rebound this year by 11.8%, according to the industry observatory World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.
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