Samsung Heavy to Cut Its Workforce

By Aiswarya Lakshmi July 18, 2017

South Korea’s shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is looking to further cut its workforce, and have employees return part of their salaries in order to cut costs, according to Yonhap News Agency.

SHI unveiled a self-restructuring program that centers on cutting the workforce and having executives return part of their salaries last year, in order to tide over a protracted slump in the shipbuilding sector.

The report said that Samsung Heavy was forced to reduce its workforce by 1,500 in 2016 through an early retirement scheme. The shipyard aims to slash its workforce by a total of 5,000 by 2018.

The shipyard won $4.8 billion worth of orders to build 13 ships, including two offshore plants, in the first six months of the year.

The company also expects to win a $1.5 billion deal to build 12 articulated tug barges. Samsung has already signed a letter of intent with SeaOne for the deal, which calls for the construction of the barges that will carry compressed gas.