Samsung wage talks fail, May 21 strike looms; Meta 8K cuts May 20, U.S. May layoffs near 38K

Bloomberg reported May 12 that Samsung Electronics and its union failed to reach a wage deal after two days of labor-ministry mediation. The National Samsung Electronics Union, representing roughly 30,000 semiconductor workers, is demanding that 15% of AI-boom operating profit be paid as bonuses and that bonus caps be removed. A court decision on Samsung's injunction to block a strike is expected before May 21. At the same time, Meta will cut about 8,000 employees, roughly 10% of staff, on May 20; U.S. employees receive 16 weeks of base pay plus two weeks per year of service and 18 months of COBRA. U.S. announced layoffs totaled roughly 37,000-38,000 in May's first ten days, including Spirit Airlines at roughly 14,000, Cloudflare at 1,100, BILL at up to 30%, and Upwork at about 25%.