Workers at Samsung in South Korea on Wednesday approved a wage agreement, averting a potential strike that had threatened to disrupt global semiconductor supplies and weigh on the country’s economy.

The agreement follows months of negotiations over bonuses linked to Samsung’s surging semiconductor business, amid booming demand for chips used in artificial intelligence data centres.

Samsung’s strong chip earnings have fuelled record profitability.

In April, the company reported a roughly 750 per cent year-on-year jump in first-quarter operating profit, while its market capitalisation surpassed $1 trillion (€859 billion) for the first time earlier this month.

The government-mediated agreement covers about 78,000 employees, representing just over 60 per cent of Samsung’s workforce, with each worker set to receive a bonus of about $370,000 (€317,904) this year.

Nearly 74 per cent of more than 62,000 union members voted in favour of the deal, partly driven by comparisons with rival chipmaker SK Hynix, whose employees reportedly received bonuses more than three times higher than Samsung workers last year, according to the union.

As part of the agreement, Samsung will introduce a new 10-year performance bonus scheme for semiconductor employees, alongside an average wage increase of 6.2 per cent.

The deal has, however, exposed tensions within the company, with workers in other divisions arguing that the package disproportionately benefits semiconductor staff.