May 19, 2026 /SemiMedia/ — Samsung Electronics has activated an emergency management plan for its semiconductor production lines in response to an upcoming union strike scheduled for May 21. The company is adjusting wafer input volumes in advance and prioritizing high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to ensure critical supply stability.

Semiconductor production lines operate as highly precise, continuous processes that require 24-hour, uninterrupted operation. A wafer undergoes hundreds of process steps from start to finished product, spanning months. Although highly automated, any equipment anomaly or process deviation requires immediate engineer intervention to prevent yield and quality impacts.

Industry observers note that simply shutting down and restarting production lines is not feasible. Post-shutdown recovery requires additional time, with yield stabilization delayed. Samsung’s preemptive reduction in production flow aims to prevent abrupt stoppages and maintain control over work-in-progress wafers.

To minimize potential losses, the company is prioritizing the production of higher-value, in-demand products, particularly HBM chips. With surging AI and high-performance computing demand, maintaining HBM supply is critical to global customer trust, placing this product line at the top priority.

The strike’s impact is expected to extend beyond the announced 18-day period. Analysts estimate that including pre-strike production reduction and post-strike ramp-up, total production disruption could last over a month. KB Securities research head Kim Dong-won stated, “In the worst-case scenario, automated production lines will require an additional two to three weeks post-strike to return to stable operation.”

The market is closely monitoring potential customer trust risks from production interruptions. Union estimates suggest total strike losses could reach up to 30 trillion won (approximately $214 billion), while JPMorgan predicts total losses, including labor costs, of up to 39.5 trillion won (approximately $282 billion). More aggressive projections, accounting for pre-strike reductions and supplier impacts, suggest direct and indirect losses could reach as high as 100 trillion won (around $714 billion).