Seoul/Hong Kong
CNN
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A labor union representing tens of hundreds of staff at Samsung Electronics in South Korea has known as a one-day strike subsequent week, in what could be the primary such walkout on the smartphone and chipmaking big.
The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) stated on Wednesday throughout a press convention streamed on its official Youtube channel that its 28,000 members — just below 1 / 4 of the corporate’s complete workforce within the nation — would strike on June 7, following failed negotiations over pay and bonus preparations.
“We are able to now not afford to see an organization that has no will to barter,” union representatives stated, including “we are going to struggle for staff’ rights and pursuits.”
Son Woomok, a union chief, advised CNN that many NSEU members labored for Samsung’s flagship semiconductor unit.
“We’re demanding clear and truthful efficiency bonuses and wage will increase,” he stated in an interview.
“There has by no means been a correct wage negotiation. It has at all times been carried out by saying the (end result) on the labor-management council, which doesn’t embrace our union, and the corporate telling us to just accept it,” he added.
In an announcement to CNN, a Samsung spokesperson stated: “The corporate stays dedicated to participating in good religion negotiations with the union, and is making each honest effort to return to an settlement.”
The world’s greatest reminiscence chipmaker has had a tough few years. A historic shortage of laptop chips through the Covid pandemic was adopted by falling demand final 12 months as shopper urge for food for electronics remained weak due to international financial uncertainty.
In January, Samsung reported an working revenue of simply 6.567 trillion received ($4.8 billion) for 2023, its weakest annual efficiency since 2009, according to the Wall Avenue Journal. Samsung additionally misplaced its crown as the highest smartphone maker globally.
However issues are trying up for the corporate due to the AI growth.
It’s optimistic a couple of resurgence in demand for cellular units this 12 months, notably with the rollout of recent merchandise, akin to AI-powered smartphones.
Final month, Samsung reported a greater than 10-fold rise in first-quarter working revenue amid forecasts of excessive demand for AI and high-end chips, an space during which it competes with Intel (INTC) and Taiwan’s TSMC.
The overwhelming majority of the world’s superior microchips are made in simply two locations: Taiwan and South Korea. Taiwan’s trade is bigger and extra dominant, one thing South Korea is eager to problem.