Samsung Electronics is reportedly laying off employees in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand as part of its global plan to cut thousands of jobs, according to sources cited by Bloomberg on Tuesday, October 1st.
An anonymous source mentioned that the layoffs may affect around 10% of employees in the mentioned markets, with the number of job cuts potentially varying across different subsidiaries.
The source indicated that overseas subsidiaries in other regions are also planning job cuts, with some markets possibly seeing reductions of up to 10%.
In the latest move, the total overseas employee cuts at Samsung will not exceed 10% of the total workforce, the source stated. Samsung intends to retain manufacturing roles but will simultaneously reduce management and support positions.
Samsung’s latest sustainability report reveals it has approximately 147,000 employees overseas, more than half of its total workforce of 267,800. However, the company does not have plans to lay off employees in the domestic market.
“A number of overseas subsidiaries are undergoing routine workforce adjustments to enhance operational efficiency,” a Samsung spokesperson said. “The company has not set target figures for any specific positions.”
The stock price of the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone manufacturer has dropped over 20% year-to-date due to obstacles in key market sales operations.
Additionally, Samsung lags behind its competitor SK Hynix in the artificial intelligence memory chip sector and has not made progress to rival Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing companies in producing custom chips for external customers.
Samsung’s current chairman is Lee Jae-yong, the grandson of the Samsung founder. This 56-year-old chairman was acquitted in February following years of legal disputes.
Samsung has previously downsized its workforce to adapt to the cyclical nature of the memory chip market. According to a source, Samsung recently cut approximately 10% of positions in parts of India and Latin America.