A late-night breakthrough averted what could have been a crippling blow to the global technology supply chain, as Samsung Electronics and its largest union reached a tentative wage agreement Wednesday, calling off a strike that had threatened to paralyze the world’s biggest memory chip maker.

The deal, struck just hours before a planned walkout was set to begin Thursday, came after tense negotiations over bonus payments finally broke, ending a standoff that had rattled investors, alarmed customers, and drawn the attention of the South Korean government. The union, representing more than 70,000 workers, suspended strike action scheduled to run through June 7, a window long enough to send shockwaves through an industry already running on razor-thin inventory margins.

In a late-night message to members, union leaders directed workers to stand down and instead participate in a ratification vote on a proposed 2026 wage agreement, to be held between Friday and May 27. The speed of the announcement suggested both sides were acutely aware of the pressure bearing down on them.

Samsung confirmed the tentative agreement covers both wages and collective bargaining terms. In a rare public statement, the company offered an apology for the prolonged uncertainty, while extending thanks to shareholders, customers, the South Korean government, and the broader public for their support and mediation efforts during the standoff. It was an unusually candid acknowledgment from one of the world’s most tightly managed corporate empires.

The stakes could hardly have been higher. Samsung’s memory chip operations underpin supply chains for everything from smartphones and laptops to artificial intelligence data centers, meaning any sustained disruption risked cascading delays across the global tech sector at a moment when demand for advanced chips is already outpacing supply.

The crisis, for now, has been averted. But with a ratification vote still to come, the final chapter has yet to be written.