Samsung Layoffs: The South Korean Firm Plans To Fire 30% Employees Globally, Says Report

Samsung Layoffs: The report revealed that the plan is expected to be executed by the end of this year and will affect positions across America, Europe, Asia, and Africa

Samsung Layoffs: Samsung Electronics reportedly plans to reduce its workforce by up to 30 per cent worldwide in certain divisions, according to a Reuters report citing sources. The South Korea-based firm has directed its global subsidiaries to cut sales and marketing staff by approximately 15 per cent and administrative staff by up to 30 per cent, as per the sources in the report.

The report further revealed that the plan is expected to be executed by the end of this year and will affect positions across America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the report, six additional sources confirmed the company's intention to reduce its global headcount.

The report has not disclosed the exact number of job losses and the specific countries and business units most affected.

In response, Samsung stated that the workforce adjustments in some overseas operations are part of routine measures aimed at enhancing efficiency. The company clarified that there are no specific targets for these reductions and emphasised that production staff will not be impacted, states the report.

According to its latest sustainability report, as of the end of 2023, Samsung employed 267,800 people, with over half of them (147,000 employees) based overseas.

The majority of these positions were in manufacturing and development, while approximately 25,100 employees were in sales and marketing, and 27,800 worked in other roles.

The ‘global mandate’ for job cuts was issued about three weeks ago, as per the report. According to one source in the report, Samsung India has already started offering severance packages to some mid-level employees who recently left. It is estimated that up to 1,000 employees in the Indian unit might be affected, out of a total workforce of around 25,000.

In China, Samsung has informed staff of job cuts expected to impact about 30 per cent of its sales operation employees, as reported by a South Korean newspaper this month.

The job cuts come as Samsung faces increasing pressure on its core business units. The company's essential chip division has been slower to rebound than its competitors following a severe industry downturn that pushed its profits to a 15-year low last year.