Samsung Bonus Dispute Slows HBM4 Output
According to industry reports, Samsung Electronics is facing growing internal disruption following a preliminary profit-sharing agreement with its largest labor union, which had temporarily prevented an 18-day strike. However, the agreement is now triggering internal conflict that could threaten the company’s ability to meet delivery schedules for advanced AI memory products.
Operations meetings across Samsung’s non-memory divisions and shared services units have reportedly been canceled. Work slowdowns are increasingly visible in the foundry and test and system package (TSP) divisions, which are responsible for back-end packaging and testing processes essential for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production. Sources familiar with the situation say decision-making on major projects has effectively stalled, driven by escalating dissatisfaction over bonus disparities between business units.
The disruption in the TSP division is particularly critical as Samsung works to ramp up production of HBM4 memory to meet expected demand for NVIDIA’s next-generation Rubin AI accelerators. The TSP unit operates an integrated turnkey production system, directly feeding wafers into Samsung’s own fabrication and advanced packaging lines. Any slowdown in these back-end operations could immediately constrain overall HBM output, at a time when major memory manufacturers are competing to fulfill hyperscale data center demand.
Industry insiders also warn that ongoing inefficiencies across production and validation lines could damage customer relationships and put delivery commitments at risk.
The root cause of the dispute lies in a wide gap in proposed bonus structures. Under the preliminary agreement, employees in Samsung’s memory division would receive bonuses of around 60 million KRW (approximately $40,000). In contrast, employees in the Device eXperience (DX) division—covering smartphones, TVs, and home appliances—would receive about 6 million KRW (around $4,000). The agreement allocates 10.5% of semiconductor operating profit as stock-based compensation, plus an additional 1.5% in cash.
Employees outside the memory business have strongly opposed the arrangement. A smaller union representing DX workers has filed a court injunction seeking to block collective bargaining by the larger chip-focused union. Following the announcement, its membership reportedly surged from 3,000 to nearly 13,000. Separately, a Korean shareholder advocacy group has also threatened legal action, arguing that profit-linked bonus structures may require shareholder approval under local law.
Union members began electronic voting on Friday, with the process running through May 27. Approval of the agreement requires participation from more than half of eligible members and a majority vote in favor. However, the approximately 43,000 non-memory union members within Samsung’s Device Solutions division are expected to play a decisive role in the outcome, as internal forums continue to show strong opposition, with many workers arguing that the deal disproportionately favors the memory business at the expense of other divisions.
