Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to slash up to 30% of its workers outside of its home market of South Korea, with the cuts due to take effect by the end of the year.
According to people acquainted with the situation, the South Korean internet behemoth has sent directions to its subsidiaries around the world, telling them to reduce their sales and marketing personnel by approximately 15%, while administrative functions may see layoffs of up to 30%.
The conglomerate, which manufactures everything from smartphones to televisions, has lagged behind some of its tech rivals, whose revenues have risen due to increased demand for high-powered memory chips to fuel artificial intelligence (AI) projects.
Samsung’s shares rose earlier this year after Nvidia (NVDA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang reportedly stated that the AI giant was testing Samsung’s next-generation memory chips for potential usage in future graphics processing units (GPUs).
Samsung will also receive up to $6.4 billion in CHIPS and Science Act funds to expand its manufacturing operations in Texas.
According to one of Reuters’ three sources, Samsung has already issued severance payouts to several mid-level staff at its India unit, with some leaving in recent weeks.
At this time, it is unknown which other international subsidiaries will be impacted and which business areas will be the most affected.
As per the company’s most recent sustainability report, as of the end of 2023, Samsung has 267,800 employees worldwide, with approximately 147,000 of them based abroad.
About 25,100 of these workers are employed in sales and marketing, but the bulk of them are in manufacturing and development.
We earlier reported that Samsung Electronics’ main workers’ union in South Korea, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), has declared a four-day strike to pressure the business for higher pay and bonuses.
The strike comes after failed talks with management in July.
