Inside Samsung’s $26.6 Billion Bonus Deal: Chip Workers Win Big, Other Divisions Revolt

12% operating profit reserved for bonuses: The centerpiece of the deal is a new special semiconductor bonus pool set at 10.5% of the Device Solutions (DS) division’s operating profit . Combined with the existing Over Profit Incentive (OPI) program, which adds 1.5%, an effective 12% of annual operating profit is reserved for employee bonuses over a 10-year period . An additional 1.5% cash component brings the total even higher for the 78,000 eligible chip workers .

50% regular cash bonus: On top of the profit-linked special bonus, all semiconductor workers will receive a guaranteed cash bonus equal to 50% of their annual salary, paid regularly .

Stock-based payouts with lock-ups: The special bonus pool is paid out entirely in Samsung treasury shares after tax, with a portion subject to a mandatory lock-up period, tying a share of worker compensation to the company’s future stock performance .

Projected Payouts for Semiconductor Employees

The new formula translates into eye-popping numbers when applied to the division’s projected operating profit, which KB Securities forecast at roughly 327 trillion won ($217 billion) for 2026 .

• Total bonus pool: Samsung will distribute approximately 40 trillion won ($26.6 billion) to chip employees this year .
• Average individual bonus: Based on Bloomberg’s calculations, the average semiconductor worker is projected to receive 513 million won (~$340,000) . Other analyses cite slightly higher averages, with some reports estimating up to $416,000 per worker . The variation depends on the exact operating profit figure used.
• Maximum individual bonus: Top-performing memory-chip employees could receive up to 600 million won (~$440,000) this year under the uncapped system .
• Non-memory chip employees: Workers in Samsung’s System LSI (logic chip design) and foundry businesses are projected to receive between 160 million and 210 million won, a substantial figure but far below their memory-division colleagues .

The Backlash: A 100-to-1 Internal Pay Gap

Almost immediately after the deal was tentatively struck, it ignited a firestorm of resentment from workers in Samsung’s Device eXperience (DX) division, which manufactures smartphones, televisions, and home appliances .

The core of the anger is a staggering 100-fold disparity: While top memory-chip workers may collect bonuses of up to 600 million won ($400,000), DX division employees are looking at payouts of just 6 million won ($4,000) in company stock . This gap is so severe that DX employees’ compensation is actually lower than what colleagues in the loss-making non-memory chip units receive, a fact that has drawn sharp criticism internally .

Key Flashpoints

• Formal campaign to reject the deal: DX employees launched an organized campaign urging union members to vote against the agreement, arguing it delivered almost nothing to non-chip workers while disproportionately rewarding the semiconductor division .
• Shattered morale: Union leaders and employees said the deal “shattered the sense of balance” inside Samsung, breaking the company’s long-held principle of rewarding performance evenly across business units . Posts on internal message boards described the workplace atmosphere with phrases like “the company is collapsing” .
• Union fragmentation: The rift predated the final vote. More than 2,500 non-chip workers had already resigned from the majority labor union in the weeks leading up to the deal, objecting to strike demands they felt favored only the semiconductor division .
• Shareholder lawsuits: The discontent extended beyond employees. Shareholders filed lawsuits seeking to block the payouts, arguing the bonus structure is excessively favorable to one division at the expense of the broader company and its investors .

A Seismic Shift for South Korean Labor

Despite the internal turmoil, the agreement marks a watershed moment for labor relations in South Korea. It is only the second time a major South Korean company has formally agreed in writing to share a fixed percentage of operating profit directly with workers . With the AI boom generating astronomical semiconductor profits and SK hynix already offering richer performance pay, Samsung had little choice but to match the model to retain talent and prevent a strike that could have disrupted global AI chip supply chains .