SK hynix has finalized its employee performance bonus plan after the company’s union approved the latest wage and bonus agreement on Sept. 16 with 57.08% support, according to South Korean media.
Bonus payout set at 50% cash and 50% treasury stock
The center of the agreement is how excess profit-sharing bonuses will be paid. In preliminary talks at the end of August, management proposed a structure of 40% cash and 60% stock. Workers rejected that package in a union vote after arguing that the cash portion was too small.
In early September, management revised the offer. The cash component was increased to 50%, while the remaining 50% would be paid in company treasury shares. The revised plan also gave employees more flexibility in choosing how to receive the stock portion of the award. The amended proposal then passed, and labor and management are expected to complete the formal signing before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The report said the half-cash, half-stock structure means SK hynix will need to repurchase shares in the market equal to 50% of the total bonus pool. That lines up with the company’s recently announced large-scale treasury stock buyback plan, which the report said is intended not only to improve shareholder returns but also to carry out the labor agreement.
10% of operating profit goes into the bonus pool
The size of the award traces back to an earlier labor decision that removed the previous cap on bonuses and committed 10% of the company’s annual operating profit directly to the employee performance bonus pool.
SK hynix has benefited from its exclusive supply of high bandwidth memory, or HBM, to NVIDIA during the AI chip boom. That made the 10% profit-sharing formula far more lucrative. Reuters calculated that average worker compensation in 2026 will reach KRW 779 million, or about $547,000, roughly TWD 17 million.
Top workplace ranking and pressure on Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics had long been seen as the ceiling for pay and bonuses in South Korea’s tech sector, but the new SK hynix system has altered that comparison. In rankings released in May by Korean workplace platform Jobplanet, SK hynix placed first among large companies seen as the best places to work, ahead of Hyundai Motor and Samsung.
The report also said SK hynix’s bonus program has fed tensions at its rival. Samsung’s union used the plan as a benchmark and demanded that 15% of operating profit be set aside for bonuses. Negotiations broke down, and Samsung saw a major strike this year.
AI demand sharpens the talent battle
With demand for AI chips still rising, SK hynix is using record profit-sharing and equity-based rewards to reinforce its position in HBM. The report said the package has also raised the bar in the competition for top semiconductor talent worldwide.