Samsung will face [challenges] in May this year.A storm of labor disputesJust as its memory and foundry businesses were poised to take off on the AI wave, this brewing large-scale strike symbolizes a more complex challenge than the first strike in 2024. Even more worrying is that the global semiconductor supply chain is already in a state of flux.Extremely tense stateFor example, Sony recently announced a comprehensive price increase for the PlayStation 5 and also announced a suspension of its memory card production orders. If Samsung, a global semiconductor powerhouse, were to shut down, everything from consumer smartphones and AI PCs to high-end servers would face incalculable supply chain disruptions and price increases.
Negotiations break down: 90,000 employees and the 18-day general strike in May.
After months of back-and-forth negotiations, labor-management issues at Samsung have stalled again in late March this year.
• Extremely high consensus on the strike:Samsung’s three major unions (representing approximately 9 employees, three times the size of the nearly 3 during the first strike in 2024) recently passed a strike proposal with a 93.1% approval rate.
• Key demands:The union's core demands include a 7% increase in basic salary, the abolition of the current cap of 50% of annual salary on "excess profit bonuses," and a more transparent bonus calculation mechanism.
• Strike schedule:If management fails to offer terms satisfactory to the union, the union plans an 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7. Union representatives have stated bluntly that if the strike begins, overall semiconductor output could face a "halving crisis."
The timing of the strike is extremely sensitive: it impacts HBM and the lifeline of advanced contract manufacturing.
The reason this strike is more worrying to the market than the one in 2024 is the devastating impact of its timing.
Samsung recently announced the mass production of its HBM4 high-bandwidth memory, placing it at a crucial juncture in its fierce competition with SK Hynix for market share in AI adoption. Furthermore, NVIDIA is expected to launch its next-generation Vera Rubin AI computing system in the second half of this year, with Samsung responsible for key components.Groq LPU Inference ChipMay is the prime time for these high-end AI chips to enter intensive production and prepare for delivery.
On the other hand, in addition to more branded mobile phones and PCs preparing to enter the market, the demand for memory and storage components will continue to increase. In addition, Samsung is also preparing to launch its new mobile phones and tablets. If the supply of memory and other components is interrupted, it will not only further affect the operation of its cooperative supply chain, but also affect the launch schedule of its own products, and may even lead to an increase in product prices.
The supply chain has already sounded the alarm: Sony has raised the price of the PS5 again and discontinued the sale of memory cards.
Samsung's strike crisis is not an isolated incident, but rather built upon an extremely fragile global supply chain. Raw material shortages and geopolitical factors have begun to impact the consumer product market.
Due to the continued shortage of solid-state memory components, coupled with the recent disruption to the supply of helium, a key gas in semiconductor manufacturing processes, caused by the Iran war, Sony has been cutting back on production since March 27th.Complete suspensionOrders for memory card product lines including CFexpress (Type A/B) and SDXC/SDHC.
More significantly, Sony announced that starting April 2nd, it will...Across the boardThe prices of all PlayStation 5 consoles have increased. The PlayStation 5 and digital versions of the console have both increased by $100, while the high-end PlayStation 5 Pro has seen a significant increase of $150, bringing the price close to $900 (in Europe, it has increased to €899.99). Sony explained that this was a painful decision made in consideration of the current economic environment and the component crisis.
Even Sony, which has strong bargaining power in its supply chain, is facing a situation where it has to pass on costs of up to hundreds of dollars to consumers, indicating that the shortage of semiconductors and memory has had a greater impact.
Domino effect: The mobile phone and PC industries will be the first to be affected.
If Samsung's production capacity halts in May, Sony's current predicament will quickly spread to more mobile phone and PC markets:
• Mobile phone costs out of control:The second half of 2026 is a crucial period for various brands (such as Apple and various Android flagship phones) to launch new models. These new phones heavily rely on high-density LPDDR5X/LPDDR6 memory and UFS storage components to support their on-device AI (Edge AI) computing needs. If Samsung cuts its production capacity by half, it will trigger panic buying in the market, which will also drive up prices from Micron and SK Hynix, ultimately leading to a situation where flagship phones in the second half of the year face either a comprehensive price increase or a forced downgrade in hardware design.
• AI PC shipments are hampered:Microsoft and various PC brands are aggressively promoting the AI PC replacement cycle, and these devices have significantly increased their basic memory capacity requirements (generally starting at 16GB, and even 32GB has become standard). If there is a sudden disruption in memory supply, it will directly halt the assembly progress of AI PCs, thereby disrupting the traditional peak season sales rhythm in the second half of the year.
Reflections on Labor Policy in the Technology Industry: The Talent War and the Transformation of Wage Structures
Samsung's current union crisis reflects a common pain point in human resource management faced by the global semiconductor industry. With countries building wafer fabs on a massive scale, skilled technicians and engineers have become the most scarce strategic resource.
In the past, tech giants mostly tended to control fixed personnel costs using a "low base salary, high bonus" model. However, after experiencing the industry's dramatic cycles, skilled workers are no longer willing to accept this insecure compensation structure. To maintain morale and prevent competitors (such as TSMC and Intel) from poaching them with high salaries, semiconductor companies are currently being forced to adjust their hiring policies:
• Increase structural base salary:Gradually convert some variable bonuses into fixed salaries to meet employees' expectations for real salary growth (such as the 7% increase demanded by the Samsung union).
• Retention clauses for technical personnel:For key technical personnel involved in advanced processes and HBM R&D, we offer more flexible work hours and dedicated long-term retention incentive programs.
