SK Hynix Shares Fall as Workers Reject Wage Deal

SK Hynix shares declined on Tuesday after union members narrowly voted against a tentative wage agreement, forcing the South Korean chipmaker and its workers to return to negotiations over pay and performance incentives.

SK Hynix shares fell 1.5% to 1.646 million won, underperforming the benchmark KOSPI, which gained 0.2%. Despite the rejection, there was no immediate indication that semiconductor production would be disrupted.

The union vote was decided by just 25 ballots. A total of 7,535 workers, representing 50.08% of votes cast, rejected the proposed agreement, while 7,510 members, or 49.92%, supported it.

Participation was high, with 15,045 of the union's 16,083 members casting ballots, resulting in a turnout of 93.8%.

The tentative SK Hynix wage agreement was reached following roughly two months of negotiations. It proposed a 6.3% salary increase alongside changes to the company's performance-based bonus system.

Under the proposal, workers would have received 40% of their incentive payments in cash and the remaining 60% in SK Hynix shares. Of the stock-based compensation, 40% could have been sold during the year it was awarded, while the remaining 20% would have been deferred and released in 10% installments over the following two years.

The bonus arrangement became a major issue during labor negotiations as SK Hynix profits benefited from booming demand for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, used in artificial intelligence applications.

Some employees raised concerns about receiving a larger portion of their compensation in company shares because SK Hynix's stock price can experience significant volatility.

The rejection sends management and the union back to the negotiating table. Upcoming discussions are expected to focus heavily on the performance incentive structure and other unresolved employment terms.

Investors will likely watch the negotiations closely for signs of escalation, although the narrow rejection does not currently suggest an immediate threat to SK Hynix's chip production.