Samsung faces record 18 day strike by 48,000 unionized workers
Samsung is about to see its biggest-ever strike, with nearly 48,000 union workers set to walk out for 18 days starting Thursday.
That's about 38% of its workforce in South Korea, mostly chip workers.
The union is pushing for uncapped annual bonuses and a share of operating profits.
Strike risks DRAM and NAND supply
Samsung has only offered a one-time bonus and is not budging on removing the bonus cap.
If the strike goes ahead, it could disrupt up to 4% of global DRAM and 3% of NAND chip supplies: big deal since Samsung makes over one-third of the world's DRAM chips.
With Samsung making up nearly one-quarter of South Korea's exports, officials are worried: even a short strike could hit GDP growth and cost billions in chip production.
Courts have ordered essential staff to stay on duty so production doesn't completely stop.