Samsung SDI, which decided to sell its chemical business to Lotte, is launching a strong drive for restructuring. In a situation where its remaining business is limited to batteries, Samsung SDI plans to return to profitability as quickly as possible by maximizing the efficiency in personnel and organization.
According to industry sources on March 6, the Samsung Group company plans to launch a voluntary retirement program targeting manager-level employees starting from this week.
It intends to lay off a large part of its 11,000 domestic employees. On February 29, Samsung SDI spun off its chemical business into SDI Chemical as part of an effort to sell its chemical business to Lotte.
The back-office departments of the chemical unit, however, remain with Samsung SDI, thereby causing redundancy in backup operations.
A Samsung SDI official said, “Although the battery business is given a group-wide support, there is a potential that the business could suffer losses for several years ahead. To overcome the difficult situation, we need to downsize and improve the business efficiency.”
