Samsung Management, Union Fail to Reach Deal in Last-Minute Talks

By Kwanwoo Jun

Samsung Electronics' management and union leaders failed to reach a bonus-pay deal in last-minute talks aimed at averting a strike at the world's largest memory-chip maker.

Samsung management said it couldn't accept the union's demands, including compensation even for unprofitable business units, the South Korean chip maker said in a statement Wednesday.

Union leaders said they will proceed with the strike as planned from May 21 through June 7.

Whether unionized Samsung workers will strike from Thursday as planned and how big the impact of the industrial action will be remain unclear, as the South Korean government had earlier warned that it could invoke emergency mediation powers to restrict the strike for one month and force a settlement if negotiations fail.

"There should be no strike under any circumstances," Samsung said, adding that it was still open to dialogue with the union to avoid the industrial action.

A South Korean local court earlier this week partly granted the company's injunction request against the strike, easing concerns over disruptions to Samsung's chip production and the global semiconductor supply chain. The court ordered the union to maintain normal operations at certain key production facilities even during industrial action, according to Samsung.

The union had demanded that the company allocate 15% of its annual operating profit to employee bonuses and remove the bonus cap, currently set at 50% of annual salary. Union leaders also wanted the revised bonus-pay scheme to become a standing rule. During a previous round of talks, Samsung management had rejected the union's demands.

Shares in Samsung fell 3.0% Wednesday after the talks failed to produce a deal.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 20, 2026 00:31 ET (04:31 GMT)