SK hynix union approves wage deal after bonus dispute

Unionised workers at South Korean memory chip maker SK hynix have approved a revised tentative wage agreement with management, the company said Wednesday, ending the latest round of talks over bonus payments.

SK hynix said the deal will pay half of profit-sharing bonuses in cash and half in company shares. That revises an earlier proposal for a 40-60 cash-stock split.

The company said its bonus scheme sets aside 10 percent of operating profit for employees. It said more than 57 percent of union members approved the revised deal this month, after workers rejected an initial agreement in August and held about two weeks of renegotiations.

The dispute comes as demand for chips used to train and run artificial intelligence systems has lifted profits at semiconductor manufacturers. SK hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron dominate the global market for high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers.

Samsung averted a strike in May by agreeing a deal to distribute bonuses equivalent to 10.5 percent of operating profit to its semiconductor employees. Micron said last week its Taiwan workers would receive bonuses worth up to five years and eight months of pay after unions threatened to strike over its bonus system.