In light of falling profits, Samsung is freezing wages for all of its employees in South Korea, Reuters reported on Thursday. This is the first time the company has elected to freeze wages since the international financial crisis in 2009, which goes to show just how seriously Samsung is taking this recent downturn.
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The report claims that 2015 wages had already been frozen for Samsung’s executives, so the nearly 94,000 employees won’t be the only ones affected by the company’s belt-tightening measures.
Also worth noting is the fact that these wage freezes are coming just days ahead of the unveiling of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones at Mobile World Congress 2015.
“The measures are likely to inject a sense of crisis into employees, who have enjoyed steady wage increases and hefty bonuses in recent years,” said Chang Sea-Jin, a business professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and author of the book “Sony vs Samsung.”
It’s clear that the S6 is going to be a key factor in Samsung’s ability to recover in 2015. If the flagship phone falls flat, frozen wages will be the least of Samsung’s concerns.
