Samsung DX employees are planning a rally to protest a hundred-fold disparity in bonuses
Samsung Employees Set for Rally Over Staggering Bonus Gap
It seems the tension inside Samsung’s walls isn’t fading anytime soon. While the semiconductor arm—the Device Solutions (DS) division—narrowly avoided a strike back in May after securing a performance bonus deal, the peace was short-lived. Now, another major branch of the company is crying foul, and they’re taking their frustration to the streets.
The issue? A massive, undeniable gap in bonuses. The Device Experience (DX) branch, which is responsible for Samsung’s bread-and-butter smartphones, home appliances, and televisions, feels like they are being left in the dust.
The Bonus Divide
The math behind the unrest is simple, but the optics are jarring. Employees in the non-chip divisions are reportedly in line for bonuses of about KRW 6 million. Meanwhile, their counterparts over in the DS division are looking at potential payouts reaching as high as KRW 600 million—a hundred-fold difference that has rightfully sparked internal outrage.
This isn’t a new development. Last month, workers began a quiet protest by wearing black to the office. Now, that quiet defiance is getting louder. Between 2,000 and 3,000 employees from the 28,000-strong DX union are expected to stage a rally near the Suwon plant on July 16.
“We plan to hold a rally during this year’s wage talks to protest the unfair sidelining of the DX division,” a union representative shared, highlighting just how deep the frustration runs.
Record Profits Fueling the Fire
The timing of this dispute is particularly sensitive. Samsung is gearing up to report an 18-fold increase in operating profit for Q2 compared to the same period last year. Projections suggest the company raked in roughly KRW 86 trillion (around $56.4 billion) between April and June, thanks largely to the skyrocketing demand for DRAM, NAND, and HBM chips.
Because the current bonus structure earmarks 10.5% of the semiconductor division’s operating profits specifically for DS employees, those in the chip sector are reaping the rewards of the current AI-driven tech boom. For the DX workers, who aren’t seeing those same windfalls, the disparity feels less like a performance incentive and more like an institutional bias. All eyes will be on the company’s full Q2 report to see how they navigate these growing internal labor tensions.
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