SK hynix raises cash performance bonus share in revised wage deal

SK hynix's labor and management are taking a second shot at this year's wage deal, unveiling a revised tentative agreement that raises the cash portion of performance bonus tied to the company's annual profit (PS) to 50 percent, up from 40 percent, after workers rejected the original proposal last month.

A member vote on the revised deal is set to take place next Tuesday to Wednesday. 

Under the revision, finalized Wednesday, employees can choose to receive between 50 percent and 100 percent of their bonus in company stock, in 10 percentage-point increments. Employees who prefer cash will receive the new 50-50 default, an improvement over the 40 percent cash they would have gotten under the original, rejected proposal.

Deferred portions of the PS calculated from last year's earnings — originally scheduled for payment next year and the year after — will now be paid early as well, a move aimed at reducing confusion during the transition to the new payment structure.

The revised deal also extends eligibility for SK hynix's enhanced-tier housing loan support to single-parent households — a benefit previously available only to married households.

Labor and management had reached an earlier tentative agreement last month that included a 6.3 percent wage increase and a PS split of 40 percent cash and 60 percent stock, but that proposal was voted down by a 25-vote margin in a member vote held Aug. 25.

If the revised agreement passes the member vote, SK hynix's labor and management will wrap up this year's wage and collective agreement ahead of Chuseok, the Korean fall harvest holiday that starts Sept. 24. 

BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [[email protected]]