Samsung Workers Launch Indefinite Strike: How Will This Affect Global Supply Chains?

On July 10, after a three-day work stoppage, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) called on its 31,000 members to join an indefinite strike of the electronics giant’s semiconductor manufacturing operations. The union demands better pay, a better bonus structure, and one additional vacation day.

These events will undoubtedly have a ripple effect on global electronics supply chains, exacerbating the already fraught pricing and availability conditions for high-bandwidth memory (HBM). 

The Effects of a Prolonged Strike on Supply Chains 

The Samsung Group includes some 80 subsidiaries that generated $237 billion in sales in 2023. Still, times were tough for Samsung last year. 

However, despite its massive scale, Samsung faced tough times last year. In 2023, Samsung reported sharp losses and a 15-year low in operating profit. The dip was attributed to a slowdown in chip and device sales, chiefly for its memory product portfolio. 

Conditions have changed dramatically for the company in 2024. Samsung is currently benefiting from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, which contributed to the company posting a sales increase of 20% in the second quarter of 2024. 

Though delayed, the industry’s supply side largely anticipated meaningful demand increases in late Q4 and into H1 2025. The return of positive book-to-bill ratios across some device types also indicates that Q2 marks the low point of this cycle, helping Samsung recover its losses. 

However, the strike will likely temper the recent progress, slowing some chip manufacturing. In addition, it is likely to disrupt the company’s plans to gain leadership in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, which multiple industry watchers valued at about $1.8 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to rise by over 65% compounded annually for 2030.

Samsung is responsible for 20% of South Korea’s GDP, meaning a prolonged strike might also have far-reaching consequences for the company and the country. 

Samsung’s Response Focuses on Production 

According to the company, Samsung Electronics will ensure no disruptions on the production lines. “The company remains committed to engaging in good faith negotiations with the union,” the company said.

The union statement didn’t say how many members would join the extended strike. However, 6,540 of its members confirmed they would participate in the earlier three-day strike. The union stated it is “confident of our victory.” 

In a statement on the Samsung website, the Samsung National Electronics Union said it has engaged in unspecified disruptions on the company’s production lines to eventually get management to come to the negotiating table if the strikes continue. 

The union has over 28,000 workers, accounting for approximately 20% of Samsung Electronics’s total workforce, estimated at 267,860 globally. About 120,000 union workers are in South Korea. 

Labor Conditions Threaten to Spread 

Earlier this year, union members and management discussed the union’s demand for higher wages and better working conditions, but they failed to agree. In June, some union members collectively used their annual leaves in a one-day walkout that observers said was the first labor strike at Samsung Electronics.

Labor actions at other businesses and in other sectors of society are common in South Korea. About 30,000 Samsung workers are reportedly affiliated with the National Samsung Electronics Union, the largest union at the company.

This large-scale strike may damage Samsung’s reputation, trigger similar activities throughout the technology industry, and affect the normal operation of the entire semiconductor supply chain.

According to one strategist, the strike’s timing is particularly crucial as it coincides with global semiconductor supply chain challenges. For more on this story and its effects on the industry, 

Component Procurement Impact

The timing of the strike is concerning for buyers, given that HBM supplies are already critically short, resulting in soaring prices. Riding the generative AI boom triggered by the emergence of ChatGPT, HBM sales are expected to account for more than 20% of the total DRAM market in 2024, up from less than 10% in 2023, according to market watchers.

SK Hynix is the early leader in HBM, accounting for as much as half of market revenue. However, Samsung and Micron strive to catch up, expanding production dramatically while increasing the output of newer part types, like HBM3 and HBM3e. 

Due to the booming demand and limited supply base, SK Hynix and Micron have sold out of HBM for all of 2024 and are nearly sold out for 2025. The imbalance in supply and demand is causing HBM average selling prices to soar, costing as much as five times as much as DDR5 DRAM.

The Commodity IQ Price Index for memory was nearly three times the baseline in June, at 294.4, indicating prices have risen dramatically compared to the 2020 baseline.

Under these circumstances, HBM buyers should prepare for an extended period of inflated prices and limited availability, possibly lasting through the end of 2025.