Samsung Cuts Up to 30% of Overseas Staff Amid Global Challenges

What’s Happening at Samsung?

Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading producer of smartphones, TVs, and memory chips, is preparing to reduce its global workforce, impacting up to 30% of its staff in certain divisions, according to multiple sources who spoke to Reuters.

The layoffs will primarily affect sales, marketing, and administrative roles, with cuts expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Key Details

• Scope of Layoffs: Up to 30% of administrative staff and 15% of sales and marketing employees across Samsung’s global operations, impacting regions including the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This number likely includes Canadian staff that were terminated earlier this year.
• India and China Impact: In India, up to 1,000 employees could be affected, while China is expected to see a 30% reduction in its sales staff. Samsung employs around 25,000 people in India.
• Company Statement: Samsung stated that these adjustments are routine measures aimed at improving efficiency and clarified that production staff will not be affected. The company also noted that there are no specific job cut targets.
• Workforce Overview: Samsung employed 267,800 people by the end of 2023, with 147,000 based overseas. Around 25,100 employees work in sales and marketing globally.

Challenges Driving the Layoffs

Samsung is currently grappling with multiple challenges across its core business sectors:

• Semiconductor Struggles: The chip division has been slow to recover from an industry downturn that severely impacted profits.
• Smartphone Market Pressure: Samsung faces stiff competition from Apple and Huawei in the premium smartphone market, further intensifying the need for cost-saving measures.
• Indian Market Disruptions: A strike over wages in India has disrupted production, adding to the company’s operational challenges in one of its key markets, which generates $12 billion in annual revenue.

Impact in Canada

It remains unclear exactly how many Samsung employees in Canada will lose their job as a result of these layoffs.

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