The tentative agreement caps weeks of negotiations as SK Hynix workers seek a larger share of record high-bandwidth memory sales.

  • SKHY stock rose 5% in premarket on Thursday.
  • SK Hynix and its labor union reached a tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement, featuring a 6.3% salary increase and a significant shift in how employee performance bonuses are apportioned.
  • SK Hynix announced a $29 billion buyback plan earlier this week.

U.S.-listed shares of SK Hynix rose nearly 5% in early premarket trading on Thursday after the memory chip giant reportedly reached a temporary agreement with its workers over wages.

SK Hynix and its labor union reached a tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement, featuring a 6.3% salary increase and a significant shift in how employee performance bonuses are apportioned, Bloomberg report citing a report in local news outlet Yonhap News.

The development follows a similar truce Samsung reached with its workers a few months ago after employees threatened to strike. 

Under the tentative agreement, SK Hynix will pay profit-sharing bonuses to employees 40% in cash and 60% in company shares, replacing the previous all-cash structure.

The tentative agreement caps weeks of negotiations as SK Hynix workers seek a higher cut from the record sales of high-bandwidth memory.

A key sticking point was management’s proposal to shift a substantial portion of bonuses from cash to shares, including restricted stock that employees cannot sell immediately. The union initially opposed the plan, arguing it undermined a profit-sharing framework agreed just last year.

Under that deal, SK Hynix agreed to remove a ceiling on its profit-sharing bonus and allocate 10% of annual operating profit to employees in cash for 10 years.

SK Hynix: Recent Updates, Retail View

The development follows SK Hynix announcing a 40 trillion won ($29 billion) share buyback and cancellation plan, the largest shareholder return program announced by a publicly listed South Korean company.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward SK Hynix remained “bearish,” as investors weighed the latest developments against continued volatility in the Korean stock market.

Samsung’s Wages Changes

Samsung Electronics reached a last-minute wage agreement with its unions in May after workers threatened an 18-day strike, and the deal was later approved by 74% of voting union members. 

Samsung agreed to increase 2026 wages by an average of 6.2% and introduced a new special bonus equal to 10.5% of the semiconductor division’s operating profit, paid in shares, while retaining Samsung’s existing profit-sharing scheme.

The deal also included long-term semiconductor performance targets that could trigger additional stock rewards, as well as a new housing-loan program offering employees up to 500 million won.

Samsung’s Shareholder Returns Plan

Samsung is set to announce a new shareholder return policy ​later this month worth more than ‌100 trillion won ($71.75 billion), Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a report in South Korean media.

The Asian tech giant will hold a board meeting at the end of August to approve a shareholder return plan that includes a special dividend.

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