Samsung has instructed its subsidiaries worldwide to cut sales and marketing staff by about 15% and administrative staff by up to 30%.
Samsung Electronics, a global giant that makes smartphones, TVs and memory chips, is cutting its overseas workforce by up to 30% in some divisions, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. South Korea-based Samsung has instructed its subsidiaries worldwide to cut sales and marketing staff by about 15% and administrative staff by up to 30%, two sources said, Reuters reported. The plan will be implemented by the end of this year and will affect jobs in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, one of the people said.
Production workers will not be affected
Six other people with knowledge of the matter also confirmed Samsung’s planned global workforce cuts, according to the report. It is unclear how many people will be laid off and which countries and business units will be most affected. The sources declined to be named because the scope and details of the job cuts were confidential. In a statement, Samsung said the workforce adjustments made at some overseas operations were routine, and aimed at improving efficiency. It said there are no specific targets for the plans, adding that they are not affecting its production staff.
These activities are going on in India
Samsung’s Indian unit was already offering severance packages to some mid-level employees who have left in recent weeks. The total number of employees leaving the India unit could reach 1,000. Samsung employs about 25,000 people in India. Samsung employs a total of 267,800 people by the end of 2023, and according to its latest sustainability report, more than half or 147,000 employees are based overseas. The report said most of these jobs are in the manufacturing and development sector and sales and marketing employees are about 25,100, while 27,800 people work in other sectors.
Employees in China also got notice
In China, Samsung has informed its employees about job cuts, expected to affect about 30% of its employees in its sales operations, a South Korean newspaper reported this month. The job cuts come at a time when Samsung is grappling with growing pressure on its key units. Its bread-and-butter chip business has been slower than its rivals in recovering from a severe downturn in the industry, which dragged its profit to a 15-year low last year. In May, Samsung replaced the head of its semiconductor division to address the chip crisis as it tries to catch up with smaller rival SK Hynix, opens a new tab in the supply of high-end memory chips used in artificial intelligence chipsets.
