Seoul (AFP) – Samsung Electronics union members on Wednesday approved a deal with management securing massive annual bonuses after threatening a major strike, as the global artificial intelligence boom causes the South Korean chip giant’s profits to soar.

It means that around 78,000 employees from the company’s 125,000-strong domestic workforce are eligible to receive a bonus of roughly $370,000 this year, based on a market estimate of annual operating profit.

Samsung’s largest workers’ union said in a statement that more than 73 percent of its members had backed the agreement in an electronic vote held over six days.

The deal was struck at the last minute last week to avert an 18-day strike that had raised fears over the impact on South Korea’s economy.

Frenzied demand for the memory chips that power AI data centres has turbocharged Samsung’s earnings.

The firm in April said first-quarter operating profit soared roughly 750 percent year-on-year, while its market value topped $1 trillion for the first time this month.

Under the union’s 10-year deal – which is tied to ambitious performance targets – annual bonuses for employees in the semiconductor division would amount to 10.5 percent of their segment’s operating profit.

The bonuses will be paid in shares, alongside an additional 1.5 percent in cash.

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