After reaching high concessions with labor unions on performance bonuses, Samsung Electronics is accelerating the construction of automation and data platforms, seeking to build "unattended" semiconductor factories by 2030 to weaken the influence of labor unions and front-line engineers on the production system.
According to Korean media ET News, Samsung recently launched a new platform called Data Sharing Eco Platform (DSEP). The core idea is to share real-time process data with partners such as equipment suppliers and at the same time connect this data to an artificial intelligence-based factory operating system to pave the way for high or even complete automation by the end of this decade. Currently, about 60 partners (mainly equipment manufacturers) have joined the platform, and the number of participants is expected to continue to increase.
According to the official introduction, DSEP is a "multi-modal" platform that can not only open relevant data fragments to partners, but also analyze the aggregated large-scale data, and then input it into Samsung's self-developed AI model to discover feasible solutions that can help stabilize yields and improve defect detection capabilities. At the same time, it can open new processes and new processes that were previously restricted due to data security risks under the premise of safety and controllability. In the actual production process, one of the great values of this platform is to speed up the diagnosis and repair of key equipment. For some equipment that was previously considered "cannot leave the factory" due to safety or sensitivity reasons, manufacturers' engineers used to need to go to the site for inspection. Now, real-time data can be used to remotely locate problems and guide corrective measures, thereby reducing interference to the overall production rhythm.
In order to support this huge data collection, distribution and analysis system, Samsung Semiconductor Division is also building a high-performance computing (HPC) platform to provide sufficient computing power, improve the efficiency of DSEP's data processing and AI training, and further promote the in-depth automation of the wafer factory. As the automation project is fully rolled out, Samsung's internal public opinion generally believes that the future production line's reliance on traditional front-line workers and some engineering positions will be significantly reduced, and the "chip" of the union in labor conditions and salary negotiations will also be weakened.
Not long ago, Samsung's labor union had been in a stalemate with management for several weeks over performance bonuses, threatening strikes and production interruptions many times to force the company's top executives to the negotiating table. According to previous reports, Samsung finally reached a highly controversial bonus agreement with the union: between 2026 and 2028, if the company’s annual operating profit exceeds 200 trillion won, union members can receive a special performance bonus equivalent to 10.5% of annual operating profit; and between 2029 and 2035, this threshold is adjusted to annual operating profit exceeding 100 trillion won.
Based on current market expectations, Samsung's operating profit this year is expected to reach about 300 trillion won, which means that for this year alone, each employee focusing on the storage business may receive a bonus of about 600 million won (equivalent to about $400,000). However, industry insiders point out that this "bonus train" may not be sustainable for a long time: once the automation route represented by DSEP is fully formed, Samsung's manpower needs in some production lines and even the entire fab will be re-evaluated, and the high-cost performance sharing mechanism will also face the possibility of being weakened or even rewritten.