Samsung Electronics fired 10,000 people from its overseas sites last year

Samsung Electronics is based in South Korea and has divisions across the globe. It employs a large number of people in various roles across the globe. Layoffs at tech companies have been commonplace over the past few years, and Samsung Electronics has trimmed its roster accordingly.

The latest numbers from the sustainability management report published by Samsung Electronics reveals that the company fired nearly 10,000 people from its overseas sites in 2024 even while it increased hiring in South Korea.

According to the report, while Samsung Electronics' overseas head count reduced by nearly 10,000 last year, its number of domestic employees in South Korea increased by 4,500. It's unsurprising, as a lot of Samsung Electronics' core R&D and chip production work happens in South Korea.

The company now has 125,297 employees in its home country, the highest number of employees at a firm. Even as it trims head count elsewhere, the company intends to remain one of the country's leading job providers.

The Samsung conglomerate had announced a plan in 2022 to hire 80,000 new and experienced employees across its various companies in South Korea. Samsung Electronics has conducted its hiring activities in line with that goal, and its hirings are believed to make up a significant chunk of that goal.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics reduced the head count at overseas sites across Southeast Asia, Europe, and Australia. The company now has 137,350 global employees as of 2024, a reduction of 9,754 people from 147,104 employees at the end of 2023. The vast majority of people that were let go weren't directly related to R&D and production tasks.

Despite letting go of a significant number of people, Samsung Electronics' restructuring efforts are somewhat conservative compared to other major companies that have trimmed significant portions of their workforce just last year.