By Saurabh Katiyar | Seoul
AI chip boom creates deep divisions inside Samsung as employees accuse company of unfair treatment
Samsung Electronics is facing one of the biggest internal labor controversies in recent years after a massive gap in employee bonuses triggered anger, protests and growing division among workers inside South Korea’s largest technology company.
The controversy exploded after Samsung reached a preliminary wage agreement this week with the company’s largest labor union, temporarily avoiding a potentially damaging strike. However, instead of calming tensions, the agreement created a fierce backlash because employees discovered that some workers would receive bonuses nearly 100 times larger than others.
Under the proposed agreement, employees in Samsung’s booming semiconductor and memory chip division could receive bonuses worth approximately 600 million won, or nearly $400,000. Meanwhile, workers in Samsung’s Digital Experience (DX) division — responsible for smartphones, televisions and home appliances — are expected to receive bonuses of only around 6 million won.
The enormous difference immediately triggered outrage across the company.
Employees argued that workers under the same corporate structure should not face such extreme inequality in compensation. The controversy rapidly spread across South Korean media and social networks, where many workers criticized Samsung for rewarding only departments linked to the artificial intelligence boom.
the issue has now sparked a serious internal conflict between Samsung’s semiconductor workers and employees from other divisions.
AI Boom Turns Samsung’s Chip Division Into a Gold Mine
Samsung’s semiconductor business has experienced explosive growth over the past year because of global demand for artificial intelligence technology.
The rapid expansion of AI systems, cloud computing and advanced data centers sharply increased demand for memory chips and high-performance semiconductors. Samsung’s chip division benefited heavily from this trend, helping the company return to strong profitability after a difficult period in 2023.
Industry analysts expect Samsung Electronics to become one of the world’s most profitable technology companies again by the end of this year because of rising AI-related chip demand.
Samsung’s largest labor union, which mainly represents semiconductor workers, celebrated the latest wage agreement as a major victory for employees who helped drive the company’s financial recovery.
Under the preliminary deal, Samsung plans to distribute 10.5% of operating profits as stock compensation while also providing an additional 1.5% in bonuses.
However, workers outside the semiconductor business quickly accused Samsung of creating a deeply unfair system.
Employees from the DX division reportedly wore black ribbons commonly associated with funerals to protest the company’s reward structure. Some workers said the company’s “one Samsung family” culture had completely collapsed.
The controversy became even more emotional because Samsung’s smartphone and electronics businesses had historically protected the company during difficult periods in the semiconductor market.
Smartphone Division Says It Was Abandoned
Leaders from Samsung’s smaller labor unions strongly criticized the preliminary agreement and accused the company’s powerful semiconductor-focused union of ignoring other employees.
Lee Ho-soo, the leader of a smaller union representing many DX division employees, publicly condemned the deal.
“Samsung Electronics is one family. We have helped each other and overcome various crises,” Lee said.
He argued that Samsung’s current success was built through cooperation between multiple divisions over many years and that it was unreasonable for only one department to receive massive rewards.
The comments reflected growing resentment among employees who believe Samsung’s semiconductor business benefited from support provided by other divisions during past financial struggles.
In early 2023, when the global memory chip market suffered severe oversupply and falling prices, Samsung’s semiconductor division reportedly borrowed nearly 20 trillion won from the display division. The money was used to continue heavy investments in factories, equipment and research despite weakening profits.
Many employees now argue that the semiconductor business is enjoying the rewards of investments supported by the wider company while refusing to share profits fairly.
The dispute has already started reshaping Samsung’s labor landscape.
After the bonus proposal became public, membership in Samsung’s smaller labor unions reportedly surged from around 3,000 members to nearly 13,000 in only a short period.
You can also read our coverage on AI Resistance Grows Across the United States
Legal Battles and Internal Power Struggles Intensify
The conflict has now expanded into legal and political battles inside Samsung.
The DX division recently filed an injunction seeking to prevent Samsung’s largest union from controlling collective bargaining negotiations. Smaller labor groups are also attempting to cancel the preliminary labor agreement entirely.
Union leaders argue the mega-union became too heavily focused on semiconductor workers and no longer represents the interests of employees across the broader company.
The situation exposed growing tensions created by the global AI boom, where workers connected to artificial intelligence and semiconductor businesses increasingly receive far larger rewards than employees in traditional technology sectors.
Analysts warn this trend may become a major challenge for large technology companies worldwide.
As artificial intelligence continues reshaping corporate profits, companies may face growing pressure to explain why some workers receive enormous rewards while others inside the same organization feel left behind.
For Samsung, the issue now goes beyond bonuses alone.
Experts say the company risks long-term morale damage if it cannot restore trust between divisions. Some employees already fear the dispute could permanently divide Samsung’s workforce into “AI winners” and “everyone else.”
Despite the controversy, Samsung has not announced plans to revise the bonus structure.
Company officials continue negotiating with labor representatives while trying to avoid a wider employee revolt that could damage operations during one of the most important periods in the company’s recent history.
The dispute also arrives at a sensitive time for South Korea’s technology industry, which increasingly depends on semiconductor exports and AI-driven growth to support the national economy.
Many observers now see Samsung’s internal conflict as an early warning sign of how artificial intelligence could widen inequality inside major corporations around the world.
