As Samsung's unionized workers grow ever bolder, egged on by the rapidly fattening purse of its memory business, which has spurred calls for pay/bonus hikes from other divisions as well, Samsung is eyeing the nuclear option of definitively splitting up the conglomerate by spinning off its semiconductor-focused Device Solutions (DS) division.
Irked by rising calls for pay/bonus hikes from its less profitable business units, Samsung is eyeing a spin-off of its very lucrative DS division into an entirely different company
The top echelons of Samsung's management appear to be in a panic mode ahead of an impending workers' strike, so much so that they are apparently willing to consider and promote heretofore unthinkable nuclear-category options.
For instance, at a recent meeting with South Korean government officials, one participant on Samsung's side casually broached the spin-off of its Device Solutions (DS) segment, noting:
"Samsung Electronics has enormous differences in profits from sector to sector and is unable to match the compensation of semiconductors with the home appliance sector, etc., and (the union) fights with this."
Of course, the Samsung official did concede that such a move would likely invite a substantial backlash from the conglomerate's shareholders, especially due to the high probability of value erosion.
Meanwhile, as we've been noting ad nauseam over the past few days, Samsung's union workers are currently demanding 15 percent of the company's annual operating profit, which amounts to around $30 billion, in bonuses. Otherwise, these union workers are threatening an 18-day strike that would begin on May 21 and last until June 07.
To showcase their strength, Samsung workers held a huge rally on the 23rd of April, attracting a crowd of as many as 40,000 people. After the rally, the union estimated that the output at Samsung's highly mechanized memory fabs and the more labor-intensive foundry lines plunged by 18.4 percent and 58.1 percent, respectively.
Critically, when the routine setup and maintenance work on semiconductor equipment is suspended for an extended period of time, restoration of normal operations can take twice as long. As such, if Samsung workers do go on an 18-day strike, restoring normal production might take as long as 36 days, or well over a month.
It is hardly a surprise, therefore, that Samsung's high-level management appears to be in a state of full-blown panic, and quite willing to consider extreme measures to deter this kind of disruption in the years ahead.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
