SK Group plans extensive workforce restructuring, following earlier efforts this year to realign its business portfolio and cut costs. In some key affiliates, especially in the refining sector, up to 20% of executives may be cut. Samsung Electronics, facing downturns in its core businesses of semiconductors, smartphones, and home appliances, has begun downsizing its overseas workforce. The global economic slump is prompting widespread corporate restructuring across major industries.
A source familiar with SK Group’s situation said on Sept. 12 that, as the group downsizes its 200-plus affiliates, it will implement a major restructuring, including workforce reductions. “While there is no specific target, some affiliates, particularly in oil and chemicals, may cut up to 20% of their executives.” SK Group, heavily invested in refining and telecommunications, is now facing a survival crisis due to a temporary slump in electric vehicle demand. Key affiliate SK Innovation had liabilities of 51 trillion won as of last year, exacerbating the group’s financial strain.
Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest company, has also begun cutting jobs, focusing on its overseas workforce. Reuters reported on Sept. 12 that Samsung’s headquarters has instructed its global subsidiaries to reduce sales and marketing staff by about 15% and administrative staff by up to 30%. This downsizing will affect all regions, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and is expected to continue through the end of the year. Reuters also cited sources indicating that layoffs in India alone could reach 1,000. As of last year, Samsung employed 267,860 staff, with over half, or 147,104, working abroad.
The restructuring comes as the company faces a downturn in its core semiconductor business and stagnation in its smartphone and home appliance divisions, leading to emergency management measures. Reuters analyzed the cuts as a response to weakening demand for tech products amid the global economic slowdown. Industry watchers are now paying attention to whether this wave of layoffs will extend to the domestic market. A Samsung staffer said, “The overseas workforce adjustment is part of routine efficiency efforts,” and added that domestic hiring is ongoing, particularly in the semiconductor sector, with increasing numbers of employees each year.
