Samsung Electronics’s memory chip division will pay special bonuses averaging about 310,000 won to employees under a profit-sharing agreement. Two unions representing 62,616 workers voted on the deal, with 74% backing it, preventing a strike after a five-month dispute. The agreement, mediated by the South Korean government, sets aside 10.5% of operating profits from Samsung’s semiconductor division for bonuses. Bonus amounts will vary by staff and are mostly paid in stock. The AI-driven memory chip boom has increased demand from data centers, tightened supply, and raised chip prices, boosting profits across major memory chipmakers. SK Hynix and Micron have both surpassed $1 trillion in market value, with shares rising sharply.
"Employees at Samsung Electronics's memory chip division are to receive bonuses averaging about 310,000 each through a landmark profit-sharing agreement, as the AI boom drives up chipmakers' profits. Fears of a strike at Samsung were averted on Wednesday after two unions for the world's largest memory chipmaker said that 74% of the 62,616 workers who cast their votes had backed the deal. The agreement, mediated by South Korea's government, means Samsung will set aside 10.5% of operating profits at its semiconductor division to pay special bonuses to its chip workers."
"It should end a bitter five-month dispute. But it could also create tensions within Samsung, as employees in other divisions such as its consumer electronics arm will receive much smaller bonuses in comparison. Reuters reported last week that a memory chip worker with a base salary of 80 million won ($53,400 or 39,700), for example, is expected to receive a bonus of about 626 million won ($416,000 or 310,000) this year, mostly paid in stock, according to a union source. Bonus levels will vary between staff."
"Demand for memory chips from AI datacentres has led to a chip shortage, prompting vendors to lift their prices sharply, boosting their profits. This boom has driven the value of the memory chip firms SK Hynix and Micron over the one-trillion-dollar mark for the first time. Shares in South Korea's SK Hynix surged by more than 9% on Wednesday, lifting its market capitalisation to above $1tn. On Tuesday, Micron's share price rocketed by 19%, taking its value over the $1trn mark, after analysts at investment bank UBS tripled their price target on its stock."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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