Before AI was the primary buzzphrase in the tech world, it was job cuts. Many of the top tech brands have been axing jobs left and right, but that trend isn’t slowing down. According to a new report, Samsung is getting ready for a massive job cut that could affect thousands of workers overseas.
2024 hasn’t really been a great year for Samsung. It’s been struggling to recover after its chip business suffered last year, it’s been accused of copying Apple with its new earbuds and smartwatch, and those devices have been suffering manufacturing issues. That’s not to mention that its Galaxy Z Fold 6 isn’t selling well at all. So, the job cuts look like they’re the cherry on top.
Samsung is planning on some massive job cuts
This is still a developing story, so you’ll want to keep tuned as more information comes out. Three sources close to the matter told Reuters about the whole situation. They wish to remain anonymous, as this information is confidential. The sources revealed that Samsung is planning to cut a massive number of jobs across several sub-brands across different countries. These countries include Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Another source added India to that list.
Right now, the number of people affected by this potential job cut is still in the air. Rather than selecting a certain number of jobs to cut, the company reached out to several subsidiaries around the world and instructed them to reduce workers. It said that they need to reduce sales and marketing staff by up to 15% and administrative staff by up to 30%.
This means that the final number of people laid off could vary drastically. We also don’t know how many companies were instructed to reduce staff. One source said that the Indian unit has been making preparations for the past three weeks. This includes getting severance packages set up.
The only solid number about layoffs we got was about India. It seems that the Indian division could lose 1,000 workers. That’s not a huge amount compared to the 25,000 total workers in the Indian division, but it’s still rather brutal.
Big numbers
According to Reuters, Samsung’s staff sat at about 267,800 at the end of last year, and more than half of those workers (around 147,000) don’t work within Korea. So, a massive job cut, especially one involving 15% and 30% of staff being cut, could have a heavy impact on the number of workers at the company. While we got news about job cuts overseas, we don’t know if Samsung is going to be cutting jobs within Korea.
Samsung is suffering
The tech world is suffering at the moment, and Samsung is no exception. While the company’s phones have been doing well, especially its Galaxy S24 series, the company is still struggling in some areas. The company has been losing chip manufacturing contracts to TSMC. Even Google, one of Samsung’s closest partners, has reportedly moved over to TSMC to manufacture the Tensor 5G chip.
Not only that, but the market the company has been dominating is starting to turn on it. Just a few years ago, there was no way that any other company could touch it when it came to foldable phones. However, companies like Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Google, HONOR, Xiaomi, Huawei, and others have breathed imagination and innovation into the segment. All of this is while Samsung has remained stagnant.
These, and other factors, have been contributing to the company’s woes, and the dreadful economic conditions aren’t helping. It was a matter of time before we saw this happening. Right now, it’s tough to know what the company is going to do going forward. We expect the layoffs to go into effect before the end of the year. Let’s just hope that all, if not most, of the people affected will have proper severance packages.
2024-09-12 15:12:22