Samsung Averts $11.7B Strike With Historic $26.6B AI Chip Bonus Deal — Workers Get Average $340K

Tom's Hardware·high signal

Samsung and its labor union reached a last-minute deal on May 20, distributing about 40 trillion won ($26.6B) to chip employees as AI-driven profit sharing. Memory unit engineers could receive up to 607% of base salary ($416K–$477K) due to AI data-center margins, while foundry workers get as low as 50%. The 10-year program gives 10.5% of profits as stock bonuses plus 1.5% cash, narrowly killing an 18-day strike that could have cost Samsung $11.7 billion.