Samsung's Indian factory encounters an indefinite strike, and production is severely affected

Recently, Samsung Electronics' Sriperumbudur factory in Chennai, southern India has encountered an "indefinite strike". Since this week, hundreds of workers at this factory have started a strike, demanding higher wages and improved working conditions.

The Sriperumbudur factory is one of the two major factories operated by Samsung in India. Established in 2007, it mainly produces home appliance products such as refrigerators and washing machines. The products are supplied to the Indian domestic market and exported. It has a crucial position in Samsung's home appliance supply chain. According to two people familiar with the matter, this factory contributes 20% to 30% of Samsung's annual revenue in India (about 12 billion US dollars), and there are about 1,800 workers employed at the factory. Since the beginning of this week, hundreds of workers have not gone to work, affecting nearly half of the daily production of the factory.

Many workers are sitting outside the factory in company uniforms and have put up posters of "indefinite strike" to let the company and the public see their demands. E. Muthukumar, the president of the Samsung India union that organized the strike, said the strike will continue, but he did not provide a timetable for the end of the strike. Previously, workers had put forward 33 demands to management, and a second round of negotiations is expected to be held this Friday.

A spokesperson for Samsung India said in an emailed statement that the company is actively communicating with workers to address their grievances and emphasized that the company complies with all laws and regulations. To mitigate the impact of the strike, Samsung has urgently hired contract workers to fill the vacancies of absent employees to avoid a large-scale production interruption during this critical sales period.

This strike comes just before the Indian festival season, which is a peak period for consumers to buy gifts and personal items. For Samsung, the production interruption at this time may have a significant impact on its sales performance in the Indian market. Previously, similar labor disputes had also occurred at Samsung's headquarters in South Korea. In July and August this year, Samsung's largest union in South Korea went on strike for several days, demanding higher wages and bonuses.

At present, negotiations between workers and management are still ongoing, and there is no sign of when the problem will be resolved. This strike incident has also attracted widespread attention in the industry.