SK hynix, which had a labor-management conflict over the size of performance bonuses, has decided to issue an additional 30 shares of its own stock as part of a 'fresh start encouragement payment.' This follows the payment of a total of 1500% in performance bonuses last month.
According to industry sources on the 7th, SK hynix announced that it would issue 30 shares of its own stock (approximately 6 million won) that afternoon and agreed to establish mutually acceptable and reasonable criteria for the excess profit distribution (PS) with the labor union. This was discussed in meetings with three unions, including those for technology office workers and production workers in Icheon and Cheongju.
The 30 shares of stock being issued this time will not be included in this year's PS payout rate. They are said to be immediately sellable.
SK hynix explained that it gathered to harmonize intentions for cooperation and trust to achieve greater growth and leap together by stating, 'We decided to issue the fresh start encouragement payment with this spirit in mind.'
On the 24th of last month, SK hynix paid out a total of 1500% in performance bonuses, which included 1000% in excess profit distribution (PS) and a special performance bonus of 500%. PS is an incentive that pays up to 50% of the annual salary (1000% of the base salary) based on annual performance. SK hynix allocated 10% of its previous year's operating profit as a fund to link individual performance to the PS payout.
Last year, SK hynix achieved its highest operating profit ever at 23.4673 trillion won, and the special performance bonus was expected to exceed the maximum standard. However, when the company paid a special performance bonus of 500% without consulting the union, the union protested, saying that calculating based on 10% of the operating profit was insufficient to reach the maximum performance level, leading to further labor-management conflicts over the bonuses.
While issuing additional shares of its own stock, SK hynix plans to engage in discussions on improving the PS structure and wage increase rates during the wage negotiations in 2025.