South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix has reached a preliminary agreement to pay 60% of its 2026 employee bonuses in company shares, with the remaining 40% paid in cash, according to a source familiar with the matter.The deal still needs approval from union members and follows weeks of talks between the company and its workers over how the bonuses should be paid.The proposed deal comes as SK Hynix enjoys strong growth from the global AI boom. Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is used in AI servers and data centres, has pushed the company’s earnings higher.Reuters estimates that employees could receive an average bonus of about 779 million won ($547,000) for 2026.Key Highlights SK Hynix proposes paying 60% of employee bonuses in company shares Strong HBM demand from AI servers drives SK Hynix earnings higher Bonus plan awaits union approval after weeks of negotiations with workersWorkers to Get Most of Bonus in Company SharesUnder the proposed arrangement, 40% of the bonus would be paid in company shares in 2027. Another 20% would be paid in shares over 2028 and 2029, while the remaining 40% would be given as cash in 2027. The latest proposal is different from an earlier plan that placed restrictions on when employees could sell the shares. The change could give workers more flexibility, although a large part of their bonus would still depend on the future performance of SK Hynix shares.The bonus plan has been a major issue in talks between SK Hynix and its employee unions. Some employees have been concerned about receiving such a large portion of their compensation in shares because the value could rise or fall with the company's stock price.The talks follow an agreement reached last year under which SK Hynix agreed to share 10% of its annual operating profit with employees through cash bonuses over a 10-year period. The new proposal would change the way much of that money is distributed.Strong AI Chip Demand Lifts Company PerformanceSK Hynix has benefited from the rapid growth in demand for memory chips used in AI systems. Its HBM products are an important part of advanced AI computing systems, where large amounts of high-speed memory are needed to process data.As technology companies continue to spend heavily on AI infrastructure and data centres, demand for HBM has remained strong. SK Hynix has become one of the leading suppliers in the market, helping the company deliver stronger financial results.The company is also planning a major increase in shareholder returns. SK Hynix said it would buy back and cancel 40 trillion won ($28.6 billion) worth of treasury shares. It also plans to use more than half of its free cash flow generated between 2025 and 2027 for shareholder returns.SK Hynix shares rose about 13% on Thursday following the announcement, according to Reuters. The rise shows continued investor confidence in the company's outlook as AI semiconductor demand remains strong.Also Read: Ant International Launches AI Model to Forecast Global FX RiskThe employee bonus agreement is not yet final and still requires union approval. If approved, the plan would give workers a much larger share-based component in their bonuses while reflecting the strong financial performance that SK Hynix is seeing from the growing AI semiconductor market.