The existence of problems at Samsung Electronics can be judged at least by the fact of the first employee strike in its history. Having decided to make personnel changes in management, Samsung was recently forced, according to The Chosun Daily, to lay off about 100 people from the management team of its chip and electronics division. Chinese companies will certainly be interested in specialists with experience.
Image Source: Samsung Electronics
Late last week, informed sources said that Samsung Electronics’ DS division, which has often been the target of criticism for its bloated management staff, would make serious cuts. Of the approximately 400 managers at various levels in its structure, about a quarter will be laid off. Many of them have already reached the age of more than 50 years and have impressive experience in organizing the production of memory chips.
These measures by Samsung, according to South Korean media, will be a real gift for Chinese companies trying to close the gap with their closest neighbors and geopolitical opponents in the production of semiconductor components by poaching valuable personnel. South Korean authorities late last month arrested a former 66-year-old employee of Samsung and SK hynix on charges of trying to transfer 20nm memory chip production technology to the Chinese side. The prosecution estimates property damage at $3 billion.
Chinese recruiters previously tried to act secretly and through intermediaries, but now they do not hesitate to offer South Korean specialists four times higher salaries, encouraging them to go to work for Chinese companies. Representatives of the Korean semiconductor industry admit that completely stopping the outflow of valuable personnel to China is problematic.