Samsung faces looming 18-day strike

Samsung Electronics and its main labor union are heading into another round of government-led talks on Monday, May 18, with an 18-day strike still scheduled to start on May 21 if no deal is reached. The dispute has become a test for the world’s biggest memory-chip supplier just as Samsung says it has started mass production and commercial shipments of HBM4, the next generation of high-bandwidth memory used in AI systems. South Korean officials have stepped in publicly, warning against disruption, while investors have reacted to the prospect of a prolonged stoppage. Samsung shares lost as much as 99.07 trillion won, or about $66.2 billion, in intraday market value on May 13 before recovering. ### When would the strike start, and how big could it be? May 21 is the date the union has set for the start of an 18-day strike if negotiations fail. Reuters reported on May 13 that Samsung Electronics and its South Korean labor union had failed to reach a pay deal, and union leader Choi Seung-ho said the walkout would proceed without an agreement. (msn.com) More than 41,000 workers are expected to join the planned walkout, according to reporting cited by CNBC on May 13. The union has framed the dispute around Samsung’s performance-bonus system and a larger share of profits from the company’s memory-chip boom. ### What are workers and management fighting over? (msn.com) The union is demanding that Samsung allocate 15% of operating profit to performance bonuses, remove caps on bonus payouts and make the structure more transparent, according to Reuters reporting cited by CNBC. Samsung management has offered 10% of operating profit and a one-time special compensation package, Yonhap reported, as cited by CNBC. (cnbc.com) April 23 was an earlier show of force. The union said about 40,000 workers joined a rally that day, and it claimed the action cut foundry production by 58% and memory production by 18% for the day. Reuters reported those figures as union claims. ### Why is HBM4 part of the story now? (cnbc.com) Samsung said on Feb. 12 that it had begun mass production of HBM4 and shipped commercial products to customers, calling itself the first company to do so. The company said the product uses its sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class DRAM and a 4-nanometer logic base die, with transfer speeds of 11.7 gigabits per second and up to 13 gigabits per second. (cnbc.com) That timing matters because HBM has become a central battleground in AI infrastructure. Reuters reported on May 15 that the strike threat has raised concerns about global supply chains tied to AI chips and has exposed divisions inside Samsung over how the gains from the memory upcycle are shared. (news.samsung.com) ### Where does SK hynix stand in HBM4? SK hynix said on its investor-relations site that it released first-quarter 2026 results on April 23. In public coverage of that earnings period, the company described HBM4 as being developed with key customers, but it has not made a public announcement matching Samsung’s Feb. 12 statement that commercial HBM4 shipments had already begun. That comparison suggests Samsung has made the clearer public claim to early HBM4 shipment leadership, while SK hynix remains heavily exposed to current-generation HBM3E demand. (money.usnews.com) The Chosun Ilbo English report on April 9 said Samsung had announced in February that it was first to mass-produce and ship HBM4, while SK hynix and Micron were still in Nvidia’s verification process. Shinhan Securities researcher Kim Hyeong-tae said in that report that delays to Nvidia’s Rubin platform could extend SK hynix’s HBM3E leadership longer than expected. (skhynix.com) ### How has Seoul responded? South Korea’s Finance Minister Koo Yun Cheol said on social media that the government “deeply regrets” the failure to reach a resolution and that “strikes must never happen under any circumstances,” according to CNBC’s May 13 report. Prime Minister Kim Min Seok instructed the government to manage the situation closely and provide assistance to avert a strike, CNBC reported. (chosun.com) Monday’s mediation session will take place at the National Labor Relations Commission office in Sejong, according to a May 16 report on the planned talks. That meeting is the next formal checkpoint before the May 21 strike deadline. ### What should readers watch next? May 18 is the next date that matters because Samsung and union officials are due back in mediated talks in Sejong. (cnbc.com) If those talks fail, the union’s planned strike would run from May 21 into early June, hitting the company during a period when Samsung has said it is already shipping HBM4 to customers. (msn.com)