Samsung workers approve bonus deal after AI profit boom

TechnologyBusiness & Finance
27 May 2026 • 1:50 PM MYT
DPA International
DPA International

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Image from: Samsung workers approve bonus deal after AI profit boom
FILE PHOTO - The Samsung logo can be seen at the Samsung stand during the International Motor Show (IAA Mobility). (is associated with: «Samsung workers approve bonus deal after AI profit boom») Sven Hoppe/dpa

Samsung union members have accepted a management offer on annual bonuses worth up to $400,000 for some employees, the union said on Wednesday.

More than 70% of members voted in favour of the offer, which recently helped avert a general strike at South Korea's largest company, according to the union.

The company-wide agreement includes an average wage increase of 6.2% and the distribution of 10.5% of company profits to employees.

Forecasts suggest this year's bonuses could reach up to 600 million won ($400,000) for employees in Samsung Electronics' highly profitable semiconductor division. More than half of Samsung Electronics' staff work in the semiconductor business.

Around 48,000 unionized employees at the world's largest producer of memory chips had previously threatened an 18-day general strike.

The dispute centred on bonus payments after the electronics giant posted record profits amid the boom in artificial intelligence.

Samsung's operating profit in the first quarter came to 57.2 trillion won ($38.2 billion), roughly eight times the figure from the same period last year.

Image from: Samsung workers approve bonus deal after AI profit boom
Head of Samsung Electronics Co.'s device solutions division's people team Yeo Myeong-gu (L) and chief of Samsung's largest labor union Choi Seung-ho (R) hold hands with Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon at the Gyeonggi District Employment and Labor Office in Suwon, after reaching an agreement on a wage deal a day before the union's planned strike at the world's largest memory chipmaker. (is associated with: «Samsung workers approve bonus deal after AI profit boom») -/YNA/dpa