[News] Lagging behind SK hynix in HBM, Samsung Reportedly Plans Significant Year-end Cuts to Chip Executives

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After reporting disappointing third-quarter earnings forecast earlier this week, Samsung’s head of Device Solutions (DS) division, Jun Young-hyun, had issued an unusual apology. Now the struggling giant seems to be making its next move. According to the latest report by the Korea Economic Daily, the company is set to significantly reduce its chip executive positions and reorganize its semiconductor-related operations.

The report notes that Samsung is currently auditing the memory department within the DS division, which manages its semiconductor business. It is worth noting that the review is said to be led by Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun himself, while the audit may result in substantial job cuts at the executive level.

According to insiders cited by the report, a major executive reshuffle is planned as part of the company’s year-end personnel changes.

For more details, the report indicates that in the year-end reshuffle, Samsung is expected to overhaul the leadership of its three core business units within the DS division, which encompasses memory, foundry, and System LSI. Moreover, key positions, such as the chief technology officer and heads of manufacturing and technology, are also subject to change, according to sources cited by the report.

According to the information cited by the report, as of the second quarter, Samsung’s DS division had 438 executives, making up 38% of the company’s total 1,164 executives. Notably, this number is more than double that of the current HBM leader, SK hynix, which has 199 executives.

According to sources cited by Business Korea, Samsung is also expected to simplify its foundry operations and restructure the Semiconductor Research Center, which is responsible for developing future chip technologies.

Although Samsung did not provide a detailed performance breakdown by division, analysts cited by the report estimate that its foundry business likely suffered losses of approximately 1.5 trillion won in the third quarter. On the other hand, its core memory business would likely to generate an operating profit of 5.5 trillion won, which marks the first time the company’s memory profit falls short of SK hynix’s, the report suggests.

Read more

• [News] Samsung Reportedly Set to Cut About 10% of Jobs in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand
• [News] Samsung Foundry Faces Yield Struggles and Client Losses, External Push for Spinoff and U.S. Listing

(Photo credit: Samsung)