Workers At Samsung Electronics Walk Out For The First Time Ever

A labor union at Samsung Electronics in South Korea reported that many workers went on strike on Friday.

The union asked its members to take a day off on Friday, which fell between a public holiday on Thursday and the weekend. I Photo: Yonhap News Agency

This marked the first such walkout in the smartphone and chipmaking giant’s 55-year history, Yoonjung Seo and Diksha Madhuk reported for Reuters.

The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) said last week that its 28,000 members — just under a quarter of the company’s total workforce in the country — would stage a one-day strike on June 7, following failed negotiations over pay and bonus arrangements.

The union asked its members to take a day off on Friday, which fell between a public holiday on Thursday and the weekend.

Son Woomok, a union leader, told CNN that “many employees used their annual leave today,” and at one site “all workers had taken leave so replacement personnel were deployed.” He did not provide other details.

He had previously said many NSEU members work for Samsung’s flagship semiconductor unit.

That division is trying to regain its former status as a top semiconductor company, according to Reuters, which says Samsung has fallen behind its competitors SK Hynix and Micron Technology in delivering chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) processors.