Samsung workers set to strike at worst possible time

A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. Samsung Electronics workers attended a rally outside the company's semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek on April 23rd, ahead of the planned strike. | Photo by SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images More than 47,000 Samsung Electronics workers are gearing up for an 18-day strike after bonus payment negotiations between the company and its union collapsed.

The strike is set to start on Thursday, and will be limited to Samsung's domestic chipmaking plants, raising concerns around the already constrained production of memory chips amid the ongoing shortage. While the union had agreed to mediation proposed by South Korea's National Labor Relations Commission (the details of which have not been made public), management at Samsung Electronics rejected the deal without explanation, Nikkei Asia reports.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.