Samsung Workers Protest 1% Bonus Gap in Black Clothes as Chip Staff Near $400,000 Payouts
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 6
Samsung Workers Protest 1% Bonus Gap in Black Clothes as Chip Staff Near $400,000 Payouts
3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 6
Summary
Non-semiconductor Samsung workers have begun wearing black clothes and masks at work to protest bonuses that in some cases are only 1% of payouts promised to memory-chip colleagues.
Roughly $400,000 bonuses for some semiconductor employees turned a recent union win into a flashpoint, exposing a sharp divide between Samsung's lucrative chip business and less profitable divisions.
Choi Seung-ho had been celebrated in late May for securing a richer profit share, but the backlash from other workers shows the deal's gains were unevenly distributed.
The dispute highlights how Samsung's AI-driven semiconductor boom is fueling internal tensions over pay even after a headline labor victory.