SK Hynix management and labor will conclude this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with a revised tentative agreement that supplements the conditions for paying the profit-sharing bonus (PS). After the first tentative agreement was rejected by a margin of 25 votes, the revised version gained member approval by increasing the cash payment portion and expanding the option to choose stocks.
According to industry sources on the 16th, the SK Hynix production workers' union held a general vote by members from yesterday through today regarding the revised tentative agreement. The revision passed with a support rate of 57.08%. Out of 16,039 eligible voters, 15,297 participated, resulting in a turnout of 95.37%. There were 8,731 votes in favor and 6,566 against.
The core of the revision concerns the PS payment method. The cash portion was raised from the previous 40% to 50%, while the stock portion was lowered from 60% to 50%. Members may convert their share into stocks in 10-percentage-point increments if they wish. While the default is receiving half in cash and half in stocks, it is also possible to receive the entire PS amount in stocks based on individual choice.
The timing of PS payments will remain as previously structured. Eighty percent (80%) will be paid in the current year, with the remaining 20% distributed as company shares in two subsequent years—10% each one year and two years later. However, management and labor agreed to accelerate the payment schedule for the 20th% of PS that was originally planned to be calculated based on last year's performance and paid next year and the year after. This is intended to minimize potential confusion during the transition to the new system.
The funding source for PS will remain as previously agreed, set at 10% of operating profit. Given that record-high profits are expected this year, the total amount of PS to be distributed to employees is also projected to increase significantly. Recently, securities firms have estimated SK Hynix's annual operating profit for this year to reach approximately 250 trillion won. Applying this figure directly suggests that the average pre-tax PS per employee could reach about 0.7 billion won.
Previously, the first tentative agreement was rejected in a union vote by production workers on the 25th of last month, with 7,510 votes in favor and 7,535 against. At that time, disagreements arose among members regarding expanding the portion of performance bonuses paid in stocks.
Management and labor prepared the revised agreement approximately three weeks after the first vote was rejected. During this process, the union held about 60 explanation sessions for its members. As a result, the margin between support and opposition votes widened to 2,165 votes in this round. In addition to PS, the criteria for deferring wages in case of losses were codified, and the scope for additional housing loan support was expanded from existing married households to single-parent families as well.
Management and labor plan to hold a final signing ceremony for the agreement before the Chuseok holiday break, officially concluding this year's CBA procedures. Management stated, "We are grateful to the union and members who stood with us through this difficult process," adding, "Moving forward, we will face upcoming challenges together, with the company and members joining forces to overcome them on our own."
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