Underpaid Samsung staff goes on strike in Korea despite foldable Galaxies costing a fortune

Earlier today, a significant part of the nearly 30,000 Samsung Electronics employees in Korea who are members of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) entered a three-day strike. According to the union, the accurate number is 6,540 and they are asking for an extra day of annual leave alongside a more transparent employee bonus system.

Last month, a similar action consisted of a coordinated annual leave that would stage a mass walkout. The union did not disclose any numbers, and Samsung said that the business was not affected. Samsung proposed flexible pay and annual leave conditions failed to match the union's demands. According to union officials, the company uses different methods of calculating bonuses for rank-and-file workers and executives. In the first case, the company deducts the cost of capital from operating profit. When it comes to executives, their bonuses are calculated solely based on personal performance metrics.

According to a public statement by Samsung, this week's actions don't have an impact on the business. While the low participation and the fact that a significant percentage of all production is automated allow for this, things might be different next time. The NSEU members account for almost 25% of Samsung's Korean workforce and other unionized or non-affiliated members might also join them in future protests.

Despite these issues, Samsung is doing really well overall. On Friday, the company estimated a 15-fold increase in operating profit for the second quarter. The share price has managed to hit the highest value since January 2021 earlier today as well. Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ smartphones are very popular, but even the quite expensive Galaxy foldables are doing all right despite their prices. After a 6% discount, the US version of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 with 256 GB is still priced at a whopping $1,699.97, but over 100 units were sold on Amazon in the past month.