When Large Corporations Cut 10,000 Regular Employees, Samsung Electronics Increased by 6,300

Corporate Evaluation Site CEO Score Investigates Employment Status of 309 Companies Based on Q1 This Year

Candidates who took the GSAT (Samsung Aptitude Test) for the selection of new employees at Samsung Group in 2018 are leaving the examination hall. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Despite a decrease of more than 10,000 regular employees in domestic large corporations since the COVID-19 pandemic, Samsung Electronics has newly hired over 6,000 regular employees.

On the 26th, CEO Score, a corporate evaluation site, announced the employment status for the first quarter of this year by investigating 309 out of the top 500 domestic companies whose employee numbers were disclosed. As of the end of March, the number of regular employees in large corporations was 1,131,308, down by 11,170 from 1,143,018 at the end of 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak. During the same period, Samsung Electronics’ regular employees increased by 6,358 to 110,963. It ranked first among large corporations both in total number of regular employees and in the increase in employees.

According to Samsung Electronics’ recently released 2020 business report, the number of employees within the company was 109,490 at the end of last year, an increase of 4,233 from the previous year (105,257). Adding CEO Score’s figures, it is estimated that about 1,400 more employees were hired in the following three months. A Samsung Electronics official explained, "It is difficult to disclose the exact number of hires per year due to the overlap of new hires and resignations," but added, "The number of new hires is steadily increasing not only through open recruitment for new graduates but also through experienced hires by business division."

Data provided by CEO Score

Among the four major conglomerates, only Samsung Electronics and its affiliates currently maintain open recruitment for college graduates. Earlier, in August 2018, Samsung declared an investment of 180 trillion won to lead the "foundation for Korea’s future growth," aiming to revitalize the economy, create jobs, and foster new industries. This included plans to hire about 40,000 new employees over three years until 2020. This figure was up to 20,000 more than the previously set three-year employment forecast (20,000 to 25,000), and it is estimated that the target was achieved by the end of last year despite the impact of COVID-19. This means that more than 10,000 new hires were made annually.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong declared internally and externally early last year, "The core duty of a company is job creation and investment in innovation," and pledged, "I will definitely keep the promise made two years ago." Even while imprisoned in January this year, he sent a message to employees from prison, urging, "Regardless of my situation, Samsung must continue on its path," and emphasized, "We must remain faithful to the company’s core duties of investment and job creation."

Meanwhile, as of the end of March, the total number of employees at 309 companies was 1,203,835, a decrease of 9,756 compared to 1,213,591 in the fourth quarter of 2019. While the number of regular employees decreased by more than 10,000, the number of non-regular employees increased by 1,954 from 70,573 to 72,527, indicating a deterioration in employment quality. By industry, among 20 sectors, 14 sectors saw a decrease in regular employees, including distribution (-7,938), shipbuilding/machinery/equipment (-3,572), automobile/parts (-3,193), banking (-2,843), food and beverage (-1,283), and construction/building materials (-1,150). On the other hand, IT/electronics (5,708), services (3,558), pharmaceuticals (1,352), public enterprises (636), and transportation (603) saw an increase in regular employees.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.