# Samsung Union Talks Collapse, 90,000 Workers to Begin 18-Day Strike May 21 With $700 Million Daily Output Hit

*2026-05-16 02:01 UTC · Business · 2 min read*

> Samsung's biggest union will start an 18-day strike on May 21 after talks collapsed, with 90,000 workers walking out and daily output losses estimated at $700 million.

Samsung Electronics negotiations with its largest labor union collapsed after a 17-hour government-mediated session on May 12, clearing the way for a planned 18-day strike to begin May 21. More than 90,000 union members, over 70 percent of Samsung's South Korean workforce, are expected to walk out. A University of Seoul estimate puts daily output losses at $700 million, with the union projecting up to $20.3 billion in total damage and JPMorgan modeling 4 trillion won of direct revenue impact.

The dispute centers on bonus compensation. Samsung offered a one-time 2026 payment but refused to permanently rewrite the formula. The National Samsung Electronics Union wants the existing 50 percent base-salary bonus cap scrapped and 15 percent of annual operating profit guaranteed for performance payouts, written into employment contracts. Friction comes from the AI-driven profitability gap between the booming memory division and Samsung's loss-making logic and foundry units.

Production risk is concrete: an April one-day walkout already cut memory fab output by 18 percent and contract foundry production by 58 percent. With Samsung's HBM lines feeding the global AI buildout, an extended stoppage threatens supply for Nvidia and other accelerator makers. Union representative Choi Seung-ho said, "We declared the negotiations over because management kept extending the mediation without making any meaningful changes."

## Sources

- [tomshardware.com](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/samsungs-last-ditch-union-talks-collapse-eight-days-before-planned-18-day-chip-factory-strike)
- [humanresourcesonline.net](https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/negotiations-break-down-samsung-electronics-union-to-stage-strike-as-planned-on-21-may-2026)
- [koreaherald.com](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10736594)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1656-samsung-union-talks-collapse-90-000-workers-to-begin-18-day-strike-may-21-with
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/1729-jednani-odboru-v-samsungu-zkrachovala-90-000-zamestnancu-zahaji-21-kvetna