Samsung Elec Chairman apologises to customers, public amid labour tensions

May 16, 2026 12:04 PM

Samsung Elec Chairman apologises to customers, public amid labour tensions

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee apologised to customers and the public on Saturday over the company's wage dispute with its South Korean labour union ahead of a possible strike that could shake the economy. "I sincerely apologise to customers around the world for causing anxiety and concern due to issues within our company," Lee said in his first public remarks on the dispute, adding that he also "deeply bows in apology to the public". After pay negotiations broke down this week, the...

Samsung chip profit jumps almost 50-fold; supply shortage to worsen in 2027

April 30, 2026 11:24 AM

Samsung chip profit jumps almost 50-fold; supply shortage to worsen in 2027

Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported record quarterly profit driven by a 49-fold jump in chip income, saying it expects a severe supply shortage to deepen next year as clients spend on AI, driving up prices of its memory chips. The world's top memory chipmaker by sales also said it has signed multi-year binding contracts with customers hoping to lock in supplies, without disclosing identities or terms. A boom in the construction of AI data centres has spurred Samsung and chipmaking peers t...

US makes it harder for SK Hynix, Samsung to make chips in China

August 31, 2025 9:11 AM

US makes it harder for SK Hynix, Samsung to make chips in China

The United States is making it more difficult for chipmakers Samsung 005930.KS and SK Hynix 000660.KS to produce chips in China by revoking authorizations that allowed the companies to receive American semiconductor manufacturing equipment there, according to the Federal Register. The U.S. Commerce Department had given the companies exemptions to sweeping restrictions created in 2022 on the sale of U.S. semiconductor equipment to China. The companies will now need to obtain licenses to buy the...

Samsung seeks ways to cushion blow from US tariffs

April 6, 2025 3:23 PM

Samsung seeks ways to cushion blow from US tariffs

Tech giant Samsung Electronics may need to overhaul its global production strategy as new U.S. reciprocal tariffs could significantly impact its smartphone business, industry sources said on Sunday. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a minimum 10 percent "baseline" tariff on all imports to the United States, along with country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs, including a 25 percent duty on goods from South Korea. The reciprocal tariffs—covering most product catego...

Samsung’s chip dominance faces new challenges amid AI-driven competition

December 2, 2024 1:25 PM

Samsung’s chip dominance faces new challenges amid AI-driven competition

Samsung Electronics, a pioneer in the semiconductor industry, is facing significant challenges as the global memory market shifts toward artificial intelligence (AI)-focused technologies. The company's three-decade reign as the world's leading memory chipmaker is under pressure, largely due to its slower response to the growing demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM), a critical component in AI accelerators, reports Yonhap news agency. The tech giant entered the semiconductor business in Decemb...

Indonesia bans sales of Google phones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

November 1, 2024 5:53 PM

Indonesia bans sales of Google phones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

Indonesia said it has banned sales of smartphones made by Alphabet's Google due to rules requiring the use of locally manufactured components, days after blocking sales of tech giant Apple's iPhone 16 for the same reason. Indonesia blocked sales of Google Pixel phones because the company has not met the rules which necessitate certain smartphones sold domestically to contain at least 40% of parts manufactured locally. "We are pushing these rules so that there's fairness for all investors in In...

Police detain union leaders as strike at Samsung facility in Tamil Nadu enters second month

October 9, 2024 4:49 PM

Police detain union leaders as strike at Samsung facility in Tamil Nadu enters second month

The strike at Samsung's manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, entered its second month on Wednesday. Police detained several protesters, including leaders from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), when a group of workers resisted orders to vacate certain areas of the facility. Among those detained were A. Soundararajan, CITU's Tamil Nadu State President, and another union leader. Soundararajan had earlier warned that the strike could take a political turn if the company's m...

Samsung, Xiaomi colluded with Amazon, Flipkart: CCI report

September 16, 2024 3:23 PM

Samsung, Xiaomi colluded with Amazon, Flipkart: CCI report

Samsung, Xiaomi and other smartphone companies colluded with Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart to exclusively launch products on the e-commerce firms' Indian websites in breach of antitrust laws, according to the Reuters news agency. Antitrust investigations conducted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have found that Amazon and Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers, prioritising certain listings, and steeply discounting products, hurting other co...

Apple loses top phonemaker spot to Samsung as iPhone shipments drop, IDC says

April 15, 2024 4:02 PM

Apple loses top phonemaker spot to Samsung as iPhone shipments drop, IDC says

Apple's AAPL.O smartphone shipments dropped about 10% in the first quarter of 2024, hurt by intensifying competition by Android smartphone makers aiming for the top spot, data from research firm IDC showed on Sunday. Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% to 289.4 million units during January-March, with Samsung 005930.KS, at 20.8% market share, clinching the top phonemaker spot from Apple. The iPhone-maker's steep sales decline comes after its strong performance in the December quarter wh...