SK hynix stated that it is negotiating the profit-sharing payment (PS) outside of wage increase rates and wishes to discuss the additional amount exceeding 1700%. This mention is interpreted as part of measures to minimize conflicts as SK hynix's labor and management are experiencing difficulties over the performance bonus.
On the 12th, Shin Sang-kyu, vice president of SK hynix, in charge of corporate culture, responded to a member's question about the company's position on the current collective bargaining at the 'Together More (THE) Communication Event' held at the SK hynix Icheon campus, saying, 'We have negotiated more than 10 times, but unfortunately, we have not been able to narrow the gap between labor and management, and the negotiations have collapsed.'
Labor and management have conducted a total of 10 wage negotiations from May to July but have failed to find a point of agreement. On the 6th, the SK hynix union held its first 'Union Members' All-out Struggle 1st Resolution Meeting' in the history of the company at the Cheongju campus and subsequently held a 2nd resolution meeting that day at the Icheon campus.
The union conducted the resolution meeting focusing on 'full payment of performance bonuses' as a core issue. In line with last year's record-breaking performance (operating profit of 23.4673 trillion won), the company provided a PS of 1500% of the base salary and 30 shares of its own stock as a form of encouragement. However, the union argues that, based on the clause outlined in the 2021 labor-management agreement stating that '10% of operating profit shall be used as performance bonus funds,' 10% of the operating profit, which constitutes the PS funds, should be paid out in full as a performance bonus.
The company proposed to raise the PS standard from the existing 1000% to 1700%+a at the 10th negotiation at the end of last month and suggested that the scale and payment method for the excess amount should be discussed further, but the union rejected this. The PS is an incentive that can be paid up to 50% of the annual salary (1000% of the base salary) based on annual performance.
Meanwhile, on that day, SK hynix mentioned the possibility of expanding its DRAM capacity. Kwak Noh-jung, CEO of SK hynix, stated at the communication event, 'While DRAM capacity has become much more competitive compared to the past, additional capacity tightening appears to be necessary,' adding, 'The focus on DRAM more than NAND has yielded benefits, and we have also seen a surge in demand for DDR4.'