United Kingdom, May 18 -- Samsung Electronics has entered emergency negotiations with its labour unions in a bid to prevent what could become the largest strike in the company's history.

More than 45,000 workers are threatening to walk out for 18 days beginning on Thursday (21.05.26), raising fears of major disruption to global semiconductor supply chains and the South Korean economy.

The potential industrial action comes during an ongoing worldwide shortage of memory chips, which are essential for artificial intelligence data centres, smartphones and laptops.

Samsung is the world's largest memory chipmaker and accounts for nearly a quarter of South Korea's exports, making the dispute particularly significant for the country's economy....