AI storage easing supply chain pressure? Samsung Electronics Workers' Union decides to postpone strike Labor and management agreement will enter the voting stage

The Samsung Electronics Union announced that the planned major strike scheduled to begin on the 21st has been postponed. The union will conduct a vote within the organization on the temporary agreement reached in the labor negotiations, and subsequent actions will be determined based on the voting results. Samsung Electronics management and labor have engaged in multiple rounds of negotiations regarding salary issues for 2026, but have been unable to fully resolve their differences. Recently, the ongoing Samsung labor negotiations have attracted market attention. Due to the potential risk of a strike, Samsung Electronics' stock price fell more than 4% in the South Korean market on Wednesday. At the same time, the market is also concerned that a strike may further impact the global storage chip supply chain. In recent years, driven by the AI boom, the demand for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), DRAM, and NAND storage has continued to soar, leading to a significant increase in storage chip prices over the past 12 months. Analysts point out that as one of the world's largest storage chip manufacturers, Samsung's labor disputes not only affect its own production, but may also affect competitors such as SK Hynix and Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US). Earlier on Wednesday, it was widely believed in the market that the strike would proceed as planned. The head of the Samsung union, Choi Seung-ho, had previously stated that the company management had rejected a proposal put forward by the South Korean government mediation organization, which the union had accepted. However, within a few hours, South Korean Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon called for direct negotiations between the two sides. The market is concerned that if the Samsung labor negotiations ultimately break down, the global technology supply chain may face further risks. On the other hand, executives from Micron Technology, Inc. expressed optimism about the demand outlook for storage brought by AI on the same day. At the J.P. Morgan Investor Conference, Manish Bhatia, Global Operations Vice President of Micron, stated that the company's financial prospects have further improved since February. He mentioned that Micron expects to achieve a large-scale record free cash flow in the third quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, and the company's balance sheet is currently at its strongest level in history. Bhatia emphasized that the structural demand driven by AI still far exceeds the overall industry supply capacity. He anticipates that the tight supply situation in the HBM, DRAM, and NAND markets will continue beyond 2026.