Samsung is considering massive job cuts abroad as a scenario and in fact a new exclusive report from Reuters reveals that if the famous electrical goods company implements its plans, then we are talking about workforce reduction up to 30%!
The South Korean company has informed its global subsidiaries to reduce sales and marketing staff by about 15% and administrative staff up to 30%; as revealed by sources familiar with the matter.
The workforce reduction, which must be completed by the end of the year, will affect employment throughout America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Six people with knowledge of the situation who confirmed Samsung’s plans to reduce the number of workers worldwide, unfortunately, did not provide details on the exact number of workers and which countries or business units will be most affected.
For obvious reasons, the sources requested anonymity, citing the confidentiality of the plans. In a statement, Samsung described the workforce adjustments in overseas operations as routine, aimed at improving efficiency. The company noted that there is no specific target and the reductions do not affect the production staff.
By the end of 2023, Samsung employed 267,800 people; with more than half – 147,000 – based abroad, according to their reports. Most of these jobs are in manufacturing and development, with about 25,100 in sales and marketing and 27,800 in other roles.
Samsung’s “global order” for job cuts was issued about three weeks ago, with its India unit already offering severance packages to some mid-level employees. Up to 1,000 employees may be affected in India, where Samsung employs about 25,000 people. Meanwhile, in China, the company has informed staff that around 30% of its sales staff will be laid off, according to a South Korean newspaper report.
These new job cuts come as Samsung faces growing challenges in its core business units.
In the premium smartphone market, Samsung is fighting fierce competition from Apple and Huawei, while it continues to follow TSMC in the manufacture of conventional chips.