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\nKorea \u2014 Workers at tech giant Samsung Electronics in South Korea staged the first-ever strike at the company on Friday, the head of a major union representing tens of thousands of people told AFP.
Samsung Electronics is one of the world\u2019s largest smartphone makers and also one of the only companies globally to produce high-end memory chips used for generative AI, including top-of-the-line AI hardware from industry leaders such as Nvidia.
Management at the firm, the world\u2019s biggest producer of memory chips, has been locked in negotiations with the union over wages since January but the two sides have failed to narrow their differences.
\u201cThe first strike at Samsung Electronics is taking place today through the use of paid leave, and it is understood that many employees are participating,\u201d Son Woo-mok, head of the National Samsung Electronics Union said.
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to provide an exact number, but from what I\u2019ve seen of the workplace attendance in the morning, there is a significant difference from the usual,\u201d he added.
The strike in South Korea is the first walkout by the tech giant\u2019s workers.
Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia\u2019s fourth-largest economy.
Taiwan-based market research firm TrendForce said that the strike would not impact DRAM and NAND Flash production, nor will it cause any shipment shortages.
Samsung accounts for a significant chunk of the global output of high-end chips, but the strike involves headquarters employees, not workers on the production lines, TrendForce said.
Additionally, it is only a one-day strike, and falls during a long-planned holiday period in South Korea, meaning the company would like already have adjusted anticipated staffing levels.
\u201cFinally, fabs rely heavily on automated production and require minimal human labor. Therefore, the strike will not have any substantial impact on the future memory supply,\u201d TrendForce said in a report.
Even so, the strike carries historical importance, \u201csince Samsung resisted unionization and engaged in union-busting for so long,\u201d Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.
He said the collective action showed that \u201cthere is a gradual tendency towards empowerment of labor in South Korea.\u201d
Samsung Electronics avoided unionization of its employees for almost 50 years \u2014 sometimes adopting ferocious tactics, according to critics \u2014 while rising to become the world\u2019s largest smartphone and semiconductor manufacturer.
Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, who died in 1987, was adamantly opposed to unions, saying he would never allow them \u201cuntil I have dirt over my eyes\u201d.
But in 2019, organizers seized the opportunity presented by the left-leaning government of President Moon Jae-in \u2014 a former rights lawyer who represented trade unions \u2014 and controversy around the bribery trial of the company\u2019s then-vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong, the founder\u2019s grandson, to set up a union.<\/p>\n