Chip prices are rising after an 18-day strike was announced at Samsung Electronics. The spot price of memory chips increased by 20% as buyers tried to get enough supply before the strike. Samsung is the world’s biggest memory chip producer, so any problem with its factories quickly affects the global electronics industry.

The strike involves more than 50,000 workers from Samsung’s largest union. They disagree with the company about bonus payments and want a bigger share of profits from the increase in sales for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

Experts say the strike may cause shortages in important parts for products like smartphones and computers. Many companies are now looking for other suppliers, but it is difficult because Samsung controls much of the memory chip market.