- Samsung Electronics will reassign staff from its power semiconductor (CSS) business team, sparking internal backlash due to a bonus gap of hundreds of millions of won and restrictions on personnel movement.
- Voices of opposition have emerged within non-memory units like foundry and System LSI, with Han Jin-man, foundry head, stating that a turnaround to profitability would be difficult by 2027 and the company would not pursue inter-unit personnel transfers via internal job postings.
- The CSS team was excluded from the DS division's new special management performance bonus, with memory employees estimated to receive 600 million won per person, while non-memory only 210 million won — one-third.
- Choi Seung-ho, union chairman, announced an in-house free agent (FA) system was opened for some CSS staff, with phased reassignments to memory, common, System LSI, and foundry units starting in the second half of the year.
- A union survey shows extremely high willingness among non-memory staff to change jobs within two years: foundry 81.5%, System LSI 75.4%, far exceeding memory's 32.7% which expects a bonus of 600 million won.
- Chairman Choi said the union will continuously demand management improve working conditions and will work to create improvement items in the 2027 negotiations.
Samsung Electronics is facing backlash from labor unions as it reassigns staff from its power semiconductor (CSS) business team to other units within its Device Solutions division. This move has sparked significant unrest among non-memory employees, who are frustrated by a bonus gap that sees memory division workers receiving an estimated 600 million won each, while their non-memory counterparts are set to receive only 210 million won—a third of that amount.126710
Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the Samsung Electronics branch of the Cho-il Enterprise Labor Union, highlighted the issue in an internal bulletin, stating that an in-house free agent system was initiated for some CSS staff, with phased reassignments planned to various units including memory and foundry. The CSS team comprises about 500 employees, and the reassigned staff will be subject to the bonus standards of their new units starting in 2025.89
The discontent is exacerbated by restrictions on personnel movement between divisions, which has led to a growing desire among non-memory employees to seek opportunities elsewhere. A recent survey revealed that 81.5% of foundry employees and 75.4% of System LSI employees are willing to change jobs within two years, compared to just 32.7% in the memory division.
Chairman Choi emphasized the union's commitment to advocating for improved working conditions, stating, 'We will continuously demand that management improve working conditions, and we will work to create related improvement items in the 2027 negotiations.'11
“The reassigned CSS staff face a bonus gap: memory division employees get an estimated 600 million won per person, while non-memory staff receive only one-third of that. A union survey found 81.5% of foundry and 75.4% of System LSI employees willing to change jobs within two years, far exceeding memory's 32.7%.”
