The AI boom is real, and Samsung’s chip division is seeing massive growth. With the increased demand for AI datacentres, companies need memory chips, and Samsung is one of the biggest makers of memory. This allowed the Korean giant to see a 49-fold increase in its chip income last quarter, and now, employees are going to get a share of it.
On Wednesday, Samsung received approval from its largest union for a bumper bonus package for every single employee in the chip division. This package will give each employee an average bonus of $340,000 (roughly Rs 3.25 crore).
Keep in mind that this approval comes after employees threatened an 18-day strike that would’ve not just disrupted Samsung’s production, but the global supply chain at large.
And, to give you some context on how big this package is likely to be. Samsung states that it has around 78,000 employees in the chip division. That is, the company is going to spend around $26.5 billion just in bonuses.
The approval came after voting. The union said on Wednesday that 73.7 per cent of participating members voted in favour of the agreement with about 62,600 ballots. Over 95 per cent of eligible members. The deal needed support from more than half of those who voted.
This agreement comes after Samsung recently became the second Asian company to cross a trillion dollars in market valuation after Taiwan’s TSMC. This growth can be attributed to the AI boom, with Samsung – one of the world’s major memory chipmakers – seeing strong demand.
How much is the bonus?
Before we delve into the bonus amount, keep in mind that this is not for all Samsung employees. Rather, this bonus is specifically for the company’s chip-making division, which is responsible for manufacturing processors and memory chips – think RAM – that go in different electronics – be it smartphones, laptops, cars, and even large AI datacentres that power ChatGPT or Gemini. Samsung has around 78,000 workers in this division.
Estimates regarding the payout vary. As per a Bloomberg report, the average bonus will likely be 513 million won, or about $340,000, based on operating profit for 2026. According to a report from Yonhap News, workers in the memory division could receive around 600 million won each (roughly Rs 3.82 crore).
In March this year, Samsung stated in a filing that its employees earned 158 million won (roughly Rs 1 crore) on average in 2025.
Samsung avoids major strike
The voting happened a week after Samsung reached an agreement with the union over how Samsung’s strong profits should be shared. This helped avoid an 18-day strike that could’ve disrupted global memory supply.
As per reports, Samsung accounts for around 12.5 per cent of gross domestic product and memory chips make up about 35 percent of exports for South Korea.
As part of the agreement, annual bonuses for employees in the semiconductor division would amount to 10.5 per cent of the segment’s operating profit and be paid in shares. The employees will also receive an additional 1.5 per cent in cash.
SK Hynix, another major memory chipmaker, had also given bonuses to its employees following the rise in demand last year.