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Samsung Electronics avoided a strike involving nearly 48,000 workers after executives reached a tentative deal over bonus payments. The labor union sought a larger share of the company's profits from its semiconductor business, which has raised questions about who benefits from the AI industry and how rewards should be distributed more equitably. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, has reported record profits in recent months due to a global shortage of memory chips.
The union demanded that the company allocate 15% of operating profit to bonuses for all workers, rather than just those in the memory chip division that supplies major tech companies like Tesla and Nvidia. Choi Seung-ho, head of Samsung's union, expressed that as AI drives record profits, workers are not receiving the performance-based rewards they deserve.
The union's demand resonated with the public, prompting a top policymaker to propose a "citizen's dividend," which would distribute a portion of AI boom profits among South Korea's 52 million people to promote social stability and mitigate the economic transition caused by AI.
Economists, labor analysts, and policymakers consider this dispute as a significant labor action. Adrian Brown, CEO of Windfall Trust think tank, stated that the workers are questioning who deserves a share of the profits generated by AI technology. The AI boom has created immense wealth for a few individuals, with 29 founders amassing $71 billion in 2022. Meanwhile, U.S. startups alone created 19 billionaires worth $59 billion over the past year.
The AI-driven wealth concentration has sparked a global trend, with big tech companies like Meta, Amazon, and Oracle cutting thousands of jobs this year, while redirecting investment into AI. The Samsung deal abolished a bonus cap, linking bonuses to operating profits and setting aside about 10.5% of operating profit for special bonuses in the chip division. This agreement signals a broader shift in how AI's rewards should be shared, as workers across various industries demand a rightful share based on their contributions.
Written by urgent.news from Rest of World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
