Samsung Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun said many people are talking about Samsung’s crisis and the business’s leaders are responsible.

"We have caused concerns about our fundamental technological competitiveness and the company's future due to our performance falling short of the market’s expectations," he said.

The so-called “crisis” prompted the company to implement a six-day workweek for executives earlier this year. This change followed dismal financial results throughout 2023, driven by heightened competition and a decline in chip demand following the pandemic's peak.

The AI hype cycle, however, was supposed to turn the company's fortunes around, as evidenced by a 15-fold increase in profits last quarter. Future growth is expected to be driven by the sales of its high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia.

Samsung now reports that sales of its high-end HBM3E chips to an unnamed major customer have been delayed, allowing competitors like SK Hynix to step in. The company is also facing pressure from Chinese competitors in the sale of conventional chips used in devices like smartphones.