South Korean consumer electronics and appliances major, Samsung is laying off around 200 employees at its India unit, which constitute about 8-9% of its workforce in the country, industry sources said.
The layoffs are happening across sales, marketing and support staff in smartphones, home appliances, and consumer electronics divisions as part of the global restructuring plans and contain costs, sources said. In India Samsung has about 2,000 people across managerial positions.
Sources said that the layoffs are not only happening in India but across Samsung’s operations globally. The reason for the same can be attributed to slowdown in its chip business, increasing competition in the smartphone business in India, as well as possible slowdown in the economies globally.
The layoffs have come at a time when over hundreds of workers at Samsung India’s manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, are on a protest near the factory, demanding recognition of a newly formed union, better wages, and improved working conditions. This is also affecting the company’s production.
Lately, Samsung has fallen to the third position in the volume terms in the mobile handsets business. Analysts attributed this decline to intensifying competition from Chinese brands such as Vivo and Xiaomi, and increasing consumer fatigue with the brand, especially in the non-premium mobile phone market.
According to IDC, in the April-June quarter, Samsung’s market share fell to 12.9% from 15.7% in the year-ago period. The company’s unit shipments to distributors or retailers also fell 15% year-on-year, IDC data shows.
In the value terms, the company has been leading the market with a 24% market share, according to Counterpoint.
In recent times, many senior executives of the company have also left and joined peers such as Xiaomi, owing to certain weakness in smartphone sales, according to industry executives.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
