Samsung execs will be forced to work a SIX day week after lackluster 2023 financial results
- Managers at the electronics company have to work Saturday or Sunday
- Employees below the executive level are still only required to work five days
Samsung executives across all divisions will have to work six days a week, with the electronics giant citing uncertainties after its key businesses underperformed expectations in 2023.
But on Monday, Samsung exceeded earnings expectations – and not just by a little. The company’s operating profit rose 933 percent in the first quarter ended in March.
By comparison, Samsung’s operating profit fell nearly 35 percent in the final quarter of 2023, but given the remarkable improvement in just a few months, DailyMail.com reached out to Samsung to confirm whether the company is still retaining its upper echelon of staff brings in. work six days a week.
According to the plan, which came into effect two weeks ago in certain parts of the company, Managers will have to work on Saturdays or Sundays after the regular five-day work week, the Korea Economic Daily reported.
Kyung Kyehyun, CEO of Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions division, is pictured center between an IBM executive (left) and an Intel executive (right)
Han Jong-hee, CEO of Samsung Electronics, speaks at the Samsung press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 8, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Pictured: A Samsung mobile phone flagship store in Shanghai, China
“Given that the performance of our key businesses, including Samsung Electronics, did not meet expectations in 2023, we are introducing the six-day work week for executives to create a sense of crisis and make every effort to alleviate it to emerge,” said Samsung. The group director told the South Korean newspaper.
In 2023, Samsung Electronics posted an operating loss of $11 billion in its key semiconductor business. The division that oversees the semiconductor industry accounts for about 80 percent of Samsung’s revenue, which sheds some light on why the company has made the move to get all hands on deck.
Samsung also said that geopolitical risks related to the war between Russia and Ukraine and tension in the Middle East increase the need to adjust their business strategies.
Samsung’s construction, shipbuilding and engineering units already voluntarily agreed to work six days a week in early 2023.
Employees below management level will continue to work five days a week, which has been the company’s norm since 2003, the Korea Economic Daily reported.
Based on the report, it is not clear which of the company’s leaders actually made the decision to move to a six-day work week.
Senator Bernie Sanders made headlines last month for introducing legislation that would standardize a four-day or 32-hour work week in the US
The Samsung logo is seen at Samsung’s office on February 5, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea
This move by Samsung comes as dozens of countries around the world – including Ireland, Spain and the UK – have done tested on a four-day working week with most of them reporting improved productivity, morale and team culture.
Senator Bernie Sanders made headlines last month for introducing legislation that would standardize a four-day or 32-hour work week in the US.
However, no country has completely transitioned to a four-day work week, although a six-day work week is common in some companies in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and India.
Greece is a European country that is moving to a six-day working week for employees in certain sectors.