The AI industry faces a potential supply shock as more than 45,000 Samsung Electronics workers prepare to launch an 18-day strike starting May 21, which could become the largest strike in the company's history. The dispute centers on bonus payments, with the union demanding the abolition of a 50% bonus cap and the allocation of 15% of annual operating profit to a worker bonus pool.
The strike threat has already pushed up memory chip prices. Spot prices for DDR4 memory in China have risen by 20% over the past week as companies stockpile supplies ahead of potential shortages. Samsung's three manufacturing sites in South Korea produce components for cloud and high-performance computing, including AI memory chips that only three companies in the world manufacture.
Union representative Choi Seung-ho said he regretted that "none of the agenda items requested by the union have been addressed." Rival SK Hynix abolished its pay cap for 10 years last year, adding pressure on Samsung to follow suit.
In contrast, the AI chip sector saw a massive win on Thursday as Cerebras Systems soared 68% in its Nasdaq debut, closing at $311.07 after selling shares at $185. The company raised $5.55 billion in the largest U.S. tech IPO since Uber's debut in 2019. Cerebras, which makes wafer-scale AI processors, saw its market cap top $95 billion on the first day of trading.
The dual developments highlight the tension in the AI hardware industry: soaring investor demand for chip companies alongside growing labor unrest among the workers who actually manufacture the components.