Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor (DS) division is aggressively increasing its hiring. The goal is to secure more than 70,000 employees within this year to expand global competitiveness. The government is preparing a plan to support semiconductors, but considering that it is difficult to make it a reality right now, it is explained that it has started securing talent on its own.
It is also preparing mid- to long-term measures to secure key talents in the semiconductor field. Samsung Electronics is discussing with universities how to hire current and former executives before and following retirement as special professors. It is evaluated that Samsung Electronics has started a counterattack while global semiconductor companies such as Intel in the US and TSMC in Taiwan are in full swing to secure talent.
“You must not lose it to Intel and TSMC”
According to the industry on the 26th, the number of workers in the DS division of Samsung Electronics exceeded 63,000 at the end of last year and then reached 67,000 in the first half of this year. Inside Samsung Electronics, plans to expand the workforce to 70,000 by the end of this year are being considered.
Although Samsung Electronics’ DS division has steadily increased its workforce, it has never expanded its recruitment on such a large scale as this year. At the end of 2017, Samsung Electronics’ DS division had 48,926 employees. Since then, the number of employees has increased by regarding 3,000 every year. The exception is around 2020, when semiconductor shortage (shortage supply and demand) started in earnest. This year, the number of employees increased by 5,000 compared to the previous year. It is known that regarding 7,000 more people will be hired this year than at the end of last year (regarding 63,000 people). If the workforce of Samsung Electronics’ DS division exceeds 70,000, there is no single conglomerate that can compete with the DS division. Hyundai Motor Company, the second-largest employing company following Samsung Electronics, employs 66,000 people. LG Electronics has only 35,000 employees.
The reason Samsung Electronics is aggressively expanding its workforce in the semiconductor sector is because competition among global semiconductor companies has intensified. Intel announced that it would re-enter the foundry (semiconductor consignment production) business last year and is actively sucking in manpower. TSMC is also known to send love calls to the executives and employees of domestic companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix while constructing additional large-scale production lines in the US and Japan.
TSMC has 64,000 foundry-related workers. On the other hand, memory semiconductors account for more than 60% of Samsung Electronics’ workforce. An industry official said, “In terms of foundry alone, there is a shortage of people compared to competitors.
Samsung executive as a special professor of semiconductors
One of the backgrounds for aggressive hiring is that Samsung Electronics has expanded its production lines in the US and Korea, and the number of manpower required has increased. Samsung Electronics has decided to build a second foundry plant in the US at a cost of US$17 billion (regarding 22 trillion won) in Taylor, Texas. In Korea, Pyeongtaek Line 3 is scheduled to start operation in the second half of this year. The demand for R&D personnel has also increased. It is explained that as the flow of the semiconductor market has changed to multi-variety small-volume production, the types of products that need to be developed have rapidly increased.
Samsung Electronics is also discussing with universities regarding entrusting former and current executives before and following retirement to the role of university special professors. The salary is said to be set at around 100 million won. Universities are trying to create new semiconductor-related departments and increase their quota, but they are struggling because there are not enough professors to teach. If current and former executives of Samsung Electronics join as faculty, this can be resolved to some extent.
An industry official said, “It is an attractive alternative for a university with many students aiming for employment at Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix. there,” he said.
Reporter Park Shin-young [email protected]
