A red light is seen at Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Yonhap
Samsung Electronics is bracing for the impact of its labor unions’ planned 18-day general strike, scheduled to start on May 21, activating contingency measures to minimize disruptions, including adjusting chip production processes and limiting new wafer input volumes.According to industry officials on Thursday, the company has begun emergency management measures as the likelihood of a strike next week has increased, with the latest round of labor-management negotiations having ended without progress. The unions have rejected the possibility of further talks and reiterated their demands.Since the strike may cause large-scale production disruptions and quality issues stemming from workforce shortages in its chipmaking division, the company is considering a “warm-down” process. Chip plants typically require preemptive adjustments to production operations at least a week in advance because halting manufacturing processes midway can result in huge losses.
“Unlike other industries, semiconductor manufacturers need to begin adjusting production volumes and quality control measures at least a week before a strike in order to minimize damage,” an industry official said. “To maintain quality control, production needs to be scaled down ahead of the strike.”
Samsung Electronics did not confirm whether it plans to adjust production volumes, but officials said that the company needs to limit new wafer input and adjust its product mix toward high-margin products such as high-bandwidth memory to minimize losses.
The company proposed further talks with the company’s labor unions on Thursday.
Samsung Electronics' letter to labor unions / Captured from Samsung Electronics Labor Union's website
Samsung Electronics sent an official letter to Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU) and the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) — the two unions jointly negotiating with the company — proposing additional talks between labor and management.
“During the recent mediation session arranged by the National Labor Relations Commission (LRC), labor and management each presented their positions but failed to reach an agreement,” the company said.
“The company proposes direct dialogue between labor and management. We ask for the unions’ positive consideration and response.”
It did not specify a date or format for the proposed talks.
Source: Korea Times News
