Samsung Group downsizing

Samsung Group, the nation’s top conglomerate, is reorganizing its workforce across its affiliates, its chief spokesperson said Wednesday.

“As far as I know, each affiliate is conducting reshuffles of their staff, depending on its business situation,” Lee Jun, Samsung Group’s top communications official, told reporters after a weekly regular meeting of presidents of Samsung affiliates.

The workforce downsizing, however, would be based on the judgments of each company, not driven by the headquarters, Lee added.

He also hinted that the group may reduce new hirings this year, saying job openings would depend on company earnings.

Industry watchers predict that the tech giant will cut new jobs by 10 percent this year.

The freeze in personnel and the cut in new hirings were anticipated this year as the business environment of the tech giant was forecast to be as challenging as that of last year.

With the group’s mainstay Samsung Electronics posting poor performance over the past quarters, the group has tightened its belt.

Samsung Electronics said last week it had decided to freeze pay for its employees for 2015, the first such move since 2009.

Earlier this year, industry sources said Samsung C&T, the construction and trade arm of the group, was mulling a voluntary retirement program in order to cut costs.

Samsung Group said in January it was freezing the salaries of around 2,000 executive-level staff members, including those from Samsung Electronics, this year.

By Seo Jee-yeon and news reports (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)