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       Samsung Workers Strike, the First in the Company’s History

       The South Korean tech giant is at odds with some of its employees as it is trying to reassure investors that its memory chip business can meet demand.

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       Samsung workers protesting outside Samsung’s offices near the Gangnam district in Seoul, South Korea on Friday. Workers at Samsung, South Korea’s most valuable company, are striking for the first time in its history.Credit...Tina Hsu for The New York Times

       By Jin Yu Young and Meaghan Tobin

       Jin Yu Young reported from Seoul and Meaghan Tobin from Taipei, Taiwan.

       Published June 6, 2024Updated June 7, 2024, 2:21 a.m. ET

       For the first time, workers at Samsung, the conglomerate that dominates the South Korean economy, went on strike on Friday.

       The action comes as Samsung Electronics fights to regain its edge in the business of making memory chips, a critical component in the advanced artificial intelligence systems that are reshaping longstanding rivalries among global technology companies.

       Workers in Samsung’s chip division were expected to make up the majority of those who will not report to work on Friday for a planned one-day strike. Union representatives said that multiple rounds of negotiations over wage increases and bonuses had broken down.

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       “The company doesn’t value the union as a negotiating partner,” said Lee Hyun Kuk, the vice president of the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, the largest among five labor groups at the company. It says that it represents 28,000 members, about one-fifth of Samsung’s global work force, and that nearly 75 percent voted in favor of a strike in April.

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       Lee Hyun Kuk, vice president of the union, said the workers aimed “to send a message to the management that we have reached a certain level of maturation.”Credit...Tina Hsu for The New York Times

       Mr. Lee said that union workers received no bonuses last year, while some had gotten bonuses of as much as 30 percent of their salaries in the past. “It feels like we’ve taken a 30 percent pay cut,” he said. The average union worker earned about 80 million won last year, or around $60,000, before incentives, he said.

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       Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea, the Asia Pacific region and global breaking news from Seoul. More about Jin Yu Young

       Meaghan Tobin is a technology correspondent for The Times based in Taipei, covering business and tech stories in Asia with a focus on China. More about Meaghan Tobin

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