Shares in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) climbed 3.9% in premarket trading on Thursday, while SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) advanced 2.2%, as investors evaluated the potential impact of an upcoming strike involving workers at Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KS:005930).
Samsung’s South Korean labour union plans for around 48,000 employees to walk off the job on Thursday after negotiations over bonus payments failed to produce an agreement. The strike, scheduled to last 18 days, follows unsuccessful mediation efforts led by South Korea’s labour minister.
Possible supply disruption could support rivals
Any disruption to Samsung’s semiconductor operations could benefit competing memory chip producers including Micron, SK hynix Inc. and SanDisk if production capacity is affected.
More broadly, the strike also raises concerns over potential economic consequences for South Korea, given Samsung’s importance to the national economy and global semiconductor supply chains.
Union leader Choi Seung-ho said the union had accepted the final proposal put forward by the government mediator, but management refused to compromise on one remaining issue.
“We express deep regret and feel disappointed but the union plans to go ahead with the strike according to the law,” Choi said.
Samsung Electronics said in a statement that the union continued to demand conditions the company considered unreasonable, including bonus levels for business units currently operating at a loss.
“The reason an agreement could not be reached is that accepting the labor union’s excessive demands would undermine the fundamental principles of company management,” the company said.
Samsung shares recover after early losses
Samsung shares finished Thursday’s trading session up 0.2%, after falling as much as 4% earlier in the day. Shares in key rival SK Hynix closed broadly unchanged.
Meanwhile, Mizuho TMT specialist Jordan Klein said the broader supply outlook for memory chips remains tight.
“going to remain well below DRAM and NAND demand all 2026 and probably all 2027. Pricing should at least hold high levels after rising further near term.”