Samsung store in Seoul, South Korea Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji Samsung has reduced headcount at its U.S. operations in displays, cellphones and other consumer electronics, mainly affecting workers in New Jersey and Texas, according to documents and two people familiar with the matter. ?? Do you have any reporting suggestions? Send to g1 The South Korean technology giant said this Sunday, in a statement to Reuters, that 739 positions in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, were affected by plans by Samsung Electronics America (SEA) — which focuses on consumer electronics and does not include chips — to move its headquarters to Texas. Most of those affected were offered relocation, but others were laid off, the company added, without giving further details. At the SEA office in Plano, Texas, about 100 employees, including staff in the mobile devices division, were laid off, according to a person who said they were among those laid off. The sources preferred not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Samsung cuts US jobs, offers relocation before headquarters move
Samsung store in Seoul, South Korea Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji Samsung has reduced headcount at its U.S. operations in displays, cellphones and other consumer electronics, mainly affecting workers in New Jersey and Texas,...
The cuts — while related to a headquarters move — highlight divergence within the South Korean technology giant, with its chip division soaring to record profits while its consumer electronics units struggle due to rising chip costs. Samsung's decision to move its SEA headquarters is surprising, as SEA employees in New Jersey had moved to new offices with great fanfare less than a year ago. SEA employs about 1,200 employees in New Jersey, according to a press release from U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who attended an event to mark the opening of the new offices in September. While it was not possible to ascertain the exact extent of the mass layoffs at SEA, documents reviewed by Reuters show that the unit notified some employees on June 30 of a “company-wide staff reduction,” adding that there would be a “significant number of impacts.” LinkedIn posts reviewed by Reuters also show that more than 30 employees, including sales and marketing executives in Texas and New Jersey, as well as some in other U.S. locations, said they had been laid off or left the company in the past two weeks. Details about the mass layoffs at SEA have not previously been released. Samsung said in its statement that the headquarters move “may lead to changes to our workforce structure, such as employees being unable to relocate or certain roles being streamlined to ensure our functions are aligned with key business priorities.”
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