SK Hynix’s South Korean labor union is in the final stages of finalizing the language of a preliminary wage agreement with management, according to a report on Wednesday. The union plans to present the terms to its members for approval in the afternoon, following ongoing negotiations to resolve remaining differences.
The proposed agreement includes a 10-year framework established in 2025, under which the company has agreed to distribute 10% of its annual operating profit to workers in cash. This follows a dispute over management’s proposal to allocate more than half of bonuses in restricted shares, a plan the union opposed.
The talks come as SK Hynix and peers in the memory chip sector grapple with how to allocate profits driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence-related products. The company’s South Korean competitor Samsung reached a government-mediated payment agreement with a major labor union earlier this year, highlighting the broader industry shift toward structured profit-sharing arrangements.
Both SK Hynix and its union are making a final push to conclude the preliminary deal, though the outcome remains subject to member approval.
