SK Hynix, 41% Performance Bonus Paid Despite Quarterly Loss

Payment in 3 Days... Excess Profit Distribution Standard Wage Set at 820%

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] SK Hynix, which posted a loss of over 1.7 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year, has decided to pay all employees a performance bonus equivalent to 41% of their annual salary for last year.

According to industry sources on the 1st, SK Hynix announced through an internal broadcast that the excess profit sharing (PS) based on last year's business performance was set at 820% of the base salary. It was announced that the payment will be made to all members on the 3rd. The 820% of the base salary corresponds to about 41% of the annual salary.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

PS is an incentive paid once a year, up to 50% of the annual salary, depending on yearly performance. It is paid together with the Productivity Incentive (PI), which can be up to 100% of the monthly base salary in the first and second halves of the year. SK Hynix paid the PI for the second half of last year at 100% of the base salary.

Since 2021, SK Hynix has paid PS by linking it to individual performance, using 10% of the previous year's operating profit as the funding source. The performance of its subsidiary Solidigm (formerly Intel NAND Solutions Division) will not be used as a PS funding source until the final acquisition is completed in 2025.

They also emphasized that they will keep the promise to provide an additional 15% cash bonus on the amount invested to members participating in the 'Shareholder Participation Program,' which is being implemented for the first time this year, if they hold the company's shares for one year. On this day, SK Hynix disclosed that it will dispose of 495,472 treasury shares (expected disposal amount of 44.94 billion won) over-the-counter to pay stock bonuses to employees.

SK Hynix announced on the same day that it posted an operating loss of 1.7012 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year. In the fourth quarter of 2021, it recorded an operating profit of 4.2195 trillion won. This is the first quarterly operating loss in 10 years since the third quarter of 2012 (-24 billion won).