Samsung orders staff to stay as unions plan strike

Samsung Electronics told staff that safety protection facilities must keep running during strikes under South Korea’s Labor Union Act.

The unions plan an 18-day walkout from May 21 to June 7 and a rally at its Pyeongtaek campus on May 23.

Samsung said 2,031 employees across 143 units must stay on duty to maintain those facilities, and it asked the Suwon District Court for an injunction against what it called illegal strike action.

The unions disputed Samsung’s interpretation and said only firefighting emergency and chemical response teams must operate normally based on a legal review they cited.

The strike could cause 20 trillion won (US$13.6 billion) to 30 trillion won (US$20.4 billion) in losses, the union said.

🔗 Source: Chosun Daily

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The strike hits Samsung’s AI memory production hub

The Pyeongtaek campus sits at the center of Samsung’s move to expand advanced Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). The company is shifting some planned contract chipmaking space at Pyeongtaek Plant 4 (P4) to the 1c DRAM process, an advanced manufacturing generation for memory chips 1.
That change follows rising demand for memory used in AI infrastructure. Demand for DRAM has reached three times the supply capacity of Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron Technology 2.
Pyeongtaek Plant 4 (P4) is being turned from contract chipmaking plans into dedicated 1c DRAM lines, with monthly capacity of about 80,000 wafers, the thin silicon discs used to make chips 1.

A slowdown could tighten DRAM supply for AI systems

A disruption at Pyeongtaek could squeeze DRAM supply further as shortages already hang over AI-led demand 2.
Some technology companies have offered about 70% more for Samsung’s 96-gigabyte and 128-gigabyte DDR5 server DRAM, a type of memory used in servers, and still could not secure enough volume 2.
Since this memory goes into AI hardware buildouts, any production dip could slow infrastructure rollouts by large technology companies worldwide 2.
Some customers are already negotiating supply for 2027, so even a short disruption could linger beyond the near term 2.