Samsung Denies Lay-Off Rumors in India

Executives at the Indian corporate body of Samsung are presenting a new product in New Delhi. (Image : Yonhap)

SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – While Indian media have reported that the local subsidiary of Samsung Electronics will be reducing its number of employees by five percent, the tech giant has responded that it is actually looking to hire more employees.

The Indian Daily Economic Times reported that the Indian corporate body of Samsung Electronics, which currently has 22,000 employees, will eliminate 750 to 1,000 positions by March of next year, or as early as December of this year. The paper added that 90 employees were advised to quit, and an additional 120 to 150 employees will be pushed to quit after the Diwali holiday, which is the largest holiday in India.

The newspaper wrote that because Samsung lowered its target sales to a 15 to 20 percent increase compared to the 30 to 40 percent growth in sales during the past years, it was planning to cut staff.

However, Samsung argued that the statement was not true.

Officials from Samsung India say that the country is one of the most promising markets in the world, and considering that the mobile phone plant is working three shifts to meet demand for mobile phones, it is in a situation where it should be hiring more employees.

Officials added that recently, 10 to 20 employees who did not have good performance records for a long time, or who had problems pointed out during inspections were advised to resign.

Samsung India runs manufacturing plants in Noida near New Delhi and Chennai in the south. The company announced in May that it was scouting locations for the construction of a third plant.

By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)