SEOUL, April 27 (AJP) - Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics said last week’s rally cut memory output by nearly 20 percent, signaling the scale of disruption a looming 18-day strike could unleash on global chip supply.
In a statement Monday, Choi Seung-ho, head of the company’s Enterprise Union branch, said a hours-long rally on April 23 led to a 58 percent drop in foundry production and an 18 percent decline in memory chip output, based on overnight wafer transfer data.
According to the union, wafer movement — a key production indicator — fell sharply during the night shift following the rally. Foundry output dropped about 58.1 percent, with the Giheung S1 line plunging 74.3 percent. Memory production fell 18.4 percent overall, with a steeper decline in DRAM processes.
“A union of 40,000 members is a reality management cannot ignore and a powerful driving force for change,” Choi said, warning that an 18-day general strike would create a “30 trillion won ($21.7 billion) vacuum.”
An estimated 40,000 workers — about 30 to 40 percent of union members — joined the rally at the Pyeongtaek campus on April 23. The union plans to proceed with an 18-day strike from May 21, beginning protests at Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s residence.
The scale marks a sharp escalation from Samsung’s first-ever strike in 2024, which drew about 5,000 workers, or roughly 15 percent of union members.
Semiconductor cleanrooms must operate continuously, as chipmaking involves hundreds of tightly sequenced processes building microscopic circuit layers on silicon wafers. Even brief disruptions risk yield losses and equipment instability.
The union is demanding the removal of caps on performance bonuses and greater transparency in the compensation system, accusing management of abandoning Samsung’s “people first” philosophy and reducing employee contributions to market-driven metrics.
Samsung maintained a neutral stance on the union’s claims.
“It is not for us to confirm or deny the figures; they should be understood as the union’s position,” a company official said, adding that efforts to reach a settlement would continue.
Analysts warn that any disruption at the world’s largest memory chipmaker could tighten an already constrained market.
“If the May strike materializes, supply shortages could deepen due to production disruptions, adding upward pressure on prices,” said Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities.
Kim added that even in a worst-case scenario where the strike lasts 18 days, it could take an additional two to three weeks to fully restart and stabilize automated production lines.
Given Samsung’s global market share — about 36 percent in DRAM and 32 percent in NAND — and the production weight of its Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong campuses, KB Securities estimates the strike could reduce global supply by 3 to 4 percent for DRAM and 2 to 3 percent for NAND.
“In a tight supply-demand environment, this strike could become a key variable reinforcing upward price pressure,” Kim said.
The union has said it will proceed with the strike from May 21 to June 7 unless an agreement is reached on its demands, which include scrapping the performance bonus cap and implementing a more transparent compensation system.
Shares of Samsung Electronics continued to rally, regardless of the strike risk. They ended Monday 2.3 percent up at 224,500 won, a tad off the record-high closing of 229,500 won.
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