Samsung Division Bonus Infighting Intensifies: Gap as High as 100 Times. Non-Chip Departments Strongly Resist, Will Samsung Stock Price Continue to Face Pressure?
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Samsung's largest union's vote on a tentative labor agreement is expected to pass, but internal divisions persist. Significant pay disparities between the memory division and non-memory/DX divisions are fueling opposition, with non-memory employees receiving substantially less. Minority shareholders are also organizing to challenge the deal. Analysts suggest that even if approved, the agreement will not resolve internal conflicts, potentially impacting talent retention and customer relationships. Concurrently, Samsung's chairman is engaging in efforts to secure foundry clients, such as MediaTek, amidst ongoing competition with TSMC, highlighting potential risks to Samsung's foundry business and long-term stability.
TradingKey - Samsung Electronics' labor dispute may be nearing a resolution. As of Monday morning, the turnout for the company’s largest union has surpassed 86%. Voting is scheduled to close at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday under a simple majority rule: if over half of eligible voters participate and over half approve, the tentative agreement will be finalized. Since roughly 80% of the union's eligible voters hail from the semiconductor division—the deal's primary beneficiaries—the proposal is widely expected to pass.
However, internal divisions within the union are coming to light. According to South Korean media, union members from the non-memory and Device eXperience (DX) divisions have organized to oppose the deal since voting began, citing a massive disparity in compensation compared to the memory chip division. While memory chip employees are set to receive incentives of up to 600 million won this year, those in non-memory sectors are expected to receive at most 210 million won. The situation is even more lopsided for the DX division, which handles finished products, where compensation sits at approximately 6 million won—nearly a 100-fold difference compared to the memory division.
At the same time, opposing shareholders are also questioning the agreement. Act, a platform for minority shareholders, stated it will demand an extraordinary general meeting after obtaining Samsung's shareholder registry, as the "Korea Shareholder Action Center" officially moves toward collective action.
Wage deal likely to pass, but is Samsung still at risk?
According to South Korean media reports, analysts have pointed out that opposition centered on the non-memory and DX sectors is rapidly gaining strength, and the war of words between unions has intensified to an unprecedented degree. Even if the compensation package is approved, "given the internal conflicts exposed by the massive pay disparity between business units, the company’s internal atmosphere is unlikely to stabilize in the short term," analysts said.
From a practical standpoint, compensation will directly affect talent retention. In this dispute, union representatives have questioned whether the significant pay gap could cause employees in the foundry division to lose their motivation to stay.
In addition, Song Heon-jae, an economics professor at the University of Seoul, noted that if Samsung cannot properly manage the strike crisis, customers who prioritize supply chain stability may turn to other suppliers.
Latest reports indicate that Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee arrived in Taiwan on the 21st to visit TSMC’s (TSM) most significant IC design client, MediaTek. Industry insiders believe the purpose of Lee's visit is to wrestle MediaTek away from TSMC. Samsung previously successfully secured foundry orders for Tesla’s (TSLA) AI6 chip foundry orders and is currently actively pitching to AMD its 2nm process, with MediaTek being its next target customer.
However, given the symbiotic relationship between MediaTek and TSMC, coupled with Samsung's own internal operational uncertainties, is it possible for the company to win over key customers while TSMC's capacity is saturated? If the agreement is finalized and the pay gap between the foundry and chip divisions widens significantly, what risks will Samsung’s foundry business face, and does it truly have the competitive standing to challenge TSMC?
In the long run, while Samsung is currently demonstrating grand ambitions to expand capacity and its business footprint, the long-term internal divisions revealed by this agreement could cause the company to crumble from within.
This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.
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