Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics have voted in favor of a strike after failing to reach a deal on wage hikes with management, according to industry sources. Wage negotiations between management and labor broke down in February after rounds of talks over this year's wage increase.

Although economic factors are the main reason for tech layoffs, many companies are citing the race for artificial intelligence as a factor, as they are shifting resources to focus on AI talent.

The crises that have brought supply chains to their breaking point have highlighted an urgent need for change. This will result in a far more robust and balanced framework for global trade and manufacturing.

The world's chipmakers are failing to meet an international target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, experts told EE Times. The first milestone is for emissions to peak in 2025 and steadily fall, one said.

Chinese companies have emerged as the top suppliers in the automotive display market in the first half of 2023, extending their dominance in the displays industry after also dominating the TV and smartphone display markets.

Even if the Federal Reserve had begun raising interest rates nine months earlier, US inflation wouldn't be any lower today than it is now.

Though technology companies announced massive layoffs last year, 2023 has been much worse. So far, layoffs have far outpaced those in all of 2022, as tech giants including Amazon, Facebook parent company Meta, Microsoft, Google, IBM, SAP, and Salesforce - as well as many smaller companies - announce sweeping job cuts.

With Apple stock near an all-time high, it's worth asking how it got there - and how long that can last. The world's most valuable company makes great products, but it may turn out that the biggest driver of its share price has been the close relationship CEO Tim Cook has cultivated with China.

Samsung Electronics' first-quarter profit is expected to plunge 92% to the lowest for any quarter in 14 years, as a chip glut worsens and buyers like data centres and computer makers slow purchases amid a global economic slowdown.

It's hard to feel sorry for Silicon Valley tech workers. From high salaries and generous stock options to nap pods and unlimited time off, they're among the most privileged class of employees in the world. Conversely, there's no denying that these pampered staffers engineered a technology revolution that's brought untold economic and social value to the entire planet.

South Korean display panel maker LG Display on Friday posted a record operating loss in the December quarter, as global demand for smartphones, computers and televisions remains depressed amid an uncertain economic outlook.

Absolics, a subsidiary of SKC, broke ground in November on a planned $600 million investment in Covington, Ga., for a new manufacturing facility that will supply advanced materials to the US semiconductor industry.

China's abrupt reversal of its Covid Zero policy pushed economic activity - its service sector in particular - to the slowest pace since February 2020, as the virus swept through major cities and prompted people to stay home and businesses to shut.

Global economic turbulence has hit technology companies this year, leading to slowing revenue growth and widespread layoffs, even as some segments of enterprise spending on IT seem to be holding steady.

Hikvision, a leading Chinese surveillance company, has denied suggestions that it poses a threat to Britain's national security after the UK government banned the use of its camera systems at "sensitive" sites.

Merck does not anticipate that a projected decline in smartphone sales this year will weigh on its semiconductor chemicals business, CEO Belen Garijo told Reuters on Thursday, insisting the market remained attractive.

Shares in major Asian computer chipmakers have slumped after the US announced tough new measures to restrict sales of technology to China. The US said it will ban American firms from selling certain chips used for supercomputers and artificial intelligence to Chinese firms.

China has placed millions of its citizens under renewed lockdown after fresh outbreaks of Covid-19 as the government persists in its hardline policy on containing the virus in the face of more evidence that it is suffocating the economy.

China's central bank has cut its mortgage rate as officials work to support the crisis-hit property market. The People's Bank of China lowered the five-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 1.5pp, which matches its biggest cut on record.

South Korea's early exports barely rose in August as geopolitical risks and central bank tightening weigh on the world economy.

China's economy contracted sharply in the second quarter of this year as widespread coronavirus lockdowns hit businesses and consumers, with its GDP falling by 2.6% sequentially.

A supply chain crisis triggered by the global pandemic deprived makers of PCs and smartphones to cars of computer chips needed to make their products. All that suddenly changed over three weeks from late May to June, as high inflation, China's latest COVID lockdown, and the war in Ukraine dampened consumer spending, especially on PCs and smartphones.

South Korea's export growth slowed sharply in June, partly due to a shorter work month but also as a result of softer global demand, as the nation ran a trade deficit for a third consecutive month.

Samsung Display, the display making arm of Samsung Electronics, is poised to fully shut down its unprofitable liquid crystal display panel business for televisions in June, after over 30 years of operation.

The top five corporate customers were Apple, Best Buy, Deutsche Telecom, Qualcomm, and Supreme Electronics, and these big clients accounted for about 14% of the company's total sales, according to a business report released by Samsung Electronics on May 16.

Shipments of some Apple products, as well as Dell and Lenovo laptops are likely to face delays if China's COVID-19 lockdowns persist, analysts say, as curbs force assemblers to shut down and closed-loop arrangements get harder to maintain.

Oil prices fell more than 5% early Monday as the Chinese city of Shanghai announced lockdown restrictions, triggering fears over weakened demand.

The city of Shanghai will be locked down in two stages over nine days while authorities carry out Covid-19 testing.

Samsung Electronics is stepping up spending on advanced chipmaking technology as it sees growing demand for its smartphones, displays and memory products.

Total consolidated revenue was a quarterly record of KRW73.98 trillion (US$63.4 billion), a 10% increase from a year earlier, which was the previous high. Operating profit increased 26% from the previous quarter to KRW15.82 trillion, the second-highest ever, as favorable market conditions continued in the memory market while the foundry and display businesses achieved robust sales.

BOE, CSOT and Samsung Display were all developing the OLED panel that Samsung Electronics plans to use on its Galaxy A73 smartphone launching next year, TheElec has learned.

Samsung Electronics is likely to turn in its best quarterly profit in three years and a record revenue, on rising memory chip prices and brisk sales of its new foldable smartphones, analysts' estimates show.

Merck plans to invest more than EUR3 billion (US$3.5 billion) through 2025 in its electronics business to capitalize on rising demand for semiconductor and display panel materials.

Xiaomi has announced a pair of smart glasses called Xiaomi Smart Glasses. A company spokesperson tells The Verge that there's no plan to actually put them on sale, but Xiaomi has provided enough detail to make the concept product seem somewhat plausible - at least for some point in the future.

Asia's renewed surge in Covid-19 infections is compounding supply-chain blockages across the world's biggest source of manufactured goods.

The Chinese government has unveiled a five-year plan outlining tighter regulation of much of its economy. It says new rules will be introduced covering areas including national security, technology and monopolies.

The labor union of Samsung Display said Wednesday its union leadership plans to go on strike next week, as the union and the management failed to narrow differences in wage talks, marking the first-ever walkout for the company and any Samsung Group affiliate.

US President Joe Biden has issued a new executive order that is set to hit 59 firms including communications giant Huawei.

Taiwan will increase curbs on the use of water from June 1 in the major chip making hubs of Hsinchu and Taichung in a battle on an islandwide drought, should there be no significant rain by then, the government said on Wednesday.

Taiwan imposed power cuts on Monday evening following a spike in demand amid a heatwave and drought and failure at a power plant, in the second such outage in a week, although far fewer homes were affected.