Less Employment

The total number of the top 10 South Korea business groups’ executive and staff members decreased by 1.3% between the end of 2014 and the end of last year.
The total number of the top 10 South Korea business groups’ executive and staff members decreased by 1.3% between the end of 2014 and the end of last year.

 

The Financial Supervisory Service announced on March 31 that the total number of the top 10 South Korea business groups’ executive and staff members decreased by 1.3% between the end of 2014 and the end of last year.

When it comes to Samsung Electronics, the number of employees declined by 2.5% or 2,484 during the period while their average length of service increased from 9.6 years to 10.3 years and their average annual salary fell from 102 million won to 101 million won. The number of executive members, in particular, fell from 1,212 to 1,112.

In Lotte Shopping, the number of executive and staff members showed a 6.6% decrease during the period and an additional personnel reduction is inevitable this year as it recently failed to extend its rights for running duty-free shops. POSCO, which recorded its first annual business losses since its inception 47 years ago last year, reduced its number by 4.6% or 832. The steelmaker is planning to keep disposing of less-profitable subsidiaries in the interest of profitability.

GS Caltex and Hyundai Heavy Industries let go of 4.1% and 3.1% of their employees for the repercussions of low oil prices, respectively. The number of staff members decreased 9.2% in Hanwha Chemical as it liquidated some business units.

In the meantime, LG Electronics increased the number of its executive and staff members by 0.2% while the rate of increase fell from 2.9% to 2.2% for Hyundai Motor Company.

This year, personnel reduction is likely to continue in many of them. The Bank of Korea recently said that South Korea’s economic growth rate for this year would not exceed 3% as in last year and the monthly exports from the country decreased year on year for 14 months in a row until last month. The Federation of Korean Industries conducted a survey with the top 500 companies in terms of sales on March 16, in which 52.5% and 10.5% of the respondents answered their recruitment plans for this year were not prepared yet and they would hire less than a year ago, respectively.

 

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