As the global economic downturn shows signs of prolonged prolongation, domestic companies experiencing sluggish business conditions have started to ‘squeeze out a dry towel’ by cutting manpower and reducing costs.
The winds of restructuring, which began with big tech companies in the US, have already blown into domestic retailers and the financial sector. The industry is concerned that an unprecedented cold wave of employment will come next year.
According to the industry on the 20th, Lotte Duty Free is receiving applications for early retirement for the first time since its foundation in order to respond to changes in the business environment caused by the corona.
In 2020, Lotte Himart, which conducted an early retirement program, failed to overcome the slump in performance due to the downturn in the home appliance market and recently recruited candidates for early retirement. Depending on the efficiency of reducing the number of stores, there is a possibility of additional job cuts in the future.
Hi Plaza, which operates LG Electronics Best Shop, also carried out voluntary retirement by paying consolation money equivalent to a basic salary of 4 to 35 months according to the number of years of service for those who wish to retire.
Banks and securities companies are already blowing winds of early retirement.
Hi Investment & Securities and Daol Investment & Securities recently received applications for voluntary retirement, while Woori Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, and Suhyup Bank also received or are receiving applications for voluntary retirement. In the case of NH Nonghyup Bank, even 40-year-old employees (born in 1982) were included in the voluntary retirement target.
This year, nearly 2,400 people from the five major banks (KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup) alone are expected to leave their jobs through voluntary retirement.
In a survey of 1,202 office workers last month by Incruit, 12.2% of respondents said that restructuring for the purpose of reducing jobs, such as voluntary retirement and recommended resignation, is currently in progress, and 32.7% of respondents said that there is a possibility in the near future. 23.3% of respondents said that they were integrating some divisions or teams or relocating personnel (planned).
As employment is a typical lagging indicator, the economic downturn this year is expected to have a greater impact on the job market next year.
As a result of a recent survey of 390 companies by Saramin HR Research Institute, 36.7% of the responding companies said they would reduce or stop hiring from this year. In particular, the response to suspend or reduce hiring was higher in large companies (47.8%) than medium-sized companies (40.6%) or small and medium-sized companies (32.8%), indicating an atmosphere of new recruitment reduction centered on large companies.
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