KEPCO drastically reduces skilled workers in transmission and distribution amid calls to "cut workforce"... "Safety concerns"

KEPCO Cuts 400 Employees in Q1...Direct Hit to Grades 5-6 Operational Staff Quotas

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) reduced its workforce by more than 400 employees in the first quarter of this year alone. This marks the beginning of workforce downsizing and cost-cutting measures, with the reductions primarily concentrated in functional and operational job grades responsible for on-site transmission and distribution tasks.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 24th, KEPCO's total workforce as of the first quarter stood at 23,320, a decrease of 408 from the end of last year (23,728). Specifically, the workforce reductions were as follows: Grade 1 (including Ga and Na, 359 employees) decreased by 2, Grade 2 (1,083 employees) by 16, Grade 3 (3,714 employees) by 39, Grade 4 (12,127 employees) by 112, Others (5,576 employees) by 323, and indefinite contract employees by 4. The total number of executives (7 employees) remained unchanged, while a separate quota for hiring using wage savings from the wage peak system increased by 88.

KEPCO's large-scale workforce reduction in the first quarter is part of the government's efforts to streamline public enterprise organizations and its own financial soundness initiatives. The company recently announced a self-rescue plan to reduce costs by more than 25 trillion KRW and intends to maximize efficiency by reallocating personnel through restructuring business sites.

The issue is that the largest portion of the workforce reduction was concentrated in functional and operational job grades. The reduction rate in the 5th and 6th grades, classified as other grades, reached 5.4% compared to the end of last year. This is up to 4 percentage points higher than the reductions in Grade 2 (1.4%), Grade 3 (1.0%), and Grade 4 (0.9%). These employees are essential as they handle tasks such as transmission and distribution, including managing distribution information systems (NDIS) data. The reduction in operational job grades raises concerns about the stability of work. An energy industry official said, "If the number of personnel responsible for on-site transmission and distribution decreases, there is a risk of increased workload and safety issues."

Going forward, increased workload is inevitable. KEPCO plans to address the need for approximately 1,600 essential additional personnel through internal workforce reallocation, according to the 10th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand. To this end, the company envisions automation using unmanned substations, robots, and drones, but the specific implementation timeline remains undecided.

The schedule for new hires is also uncertain, corresponding to the reduced workforce. KEPCO has effectively suspended recruitment of new university graduates in the first half of this year due to ongoing large-scale deficits since last year, and the schedule for the second half remains unclear. This contrasts with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, which is conducting new graduate recruitment of about 200 employees in the first half of this year. As new hires decrease, personnel congestion in remaining job grades is worsening. It is reported that the workload on Grade 3 (assistant manager level) and above, classified as managerial positions, has increased, affecting promotions and other personnel matters.

KEPCO's austerity management is expected to continue until 2026, aiming for company normalization. To improve financial soundness, KEPCO plans to reduce costs by a total of 25.7 trillion KRW and, as part of a high-intensity financial structure improvement, will return all wage increases for Grade 2 and above this year. A KEPCO official stated, "The 'Others' category includes not only functional staff responsible for actual transmission and distribution work but also simple task roles such as fee collection, so there is no disruption to power supply operations."

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