Although Samsung recently said it has no plans to spin off its Foundry and System LSI divisions, the tech conglomerate will reportedly cut significant executive job numbers throughout its chip-making arms before the end of 2024.
A new report citing industry sources says the head of the Device Solutions (DS) division, under which Samsung's semiconductor business operates, is leading reviews ahead of a major executive reshuffle.
According to KED Global, the Samsung group had 1,164 executives under its wing at the end of the second quarter, of which 438 were employed by Samsung's DS businesses. Compared to rival SK Hynix's 199 executives, that's too many.
A large portion of Samsung's executives joined the company's semiconductor sector in 2017-2018, when the business was booming. However, as the semiconductor business slowed down, Samsung hasn't made any significant changes to its executive personnel. If the rumors are true, that's about to change.
New leaders to be appointed at three key businesses
The recent report doesn't specify how many executives Samsung might be planning to cut off. However, it does state that the tech giant will likely shuffle the leadership positions for its three main DS Division businesses, including Foundry, System LSI, and Memory.
Furthermore, the report states that Samsung is looking to replace Chief Technology Officers and heads of manufacturing and technology. All this executive reshuffling and reorganization across the three major DS businesses will reportedly unfold near the end of the year.
Earlier this week, Samsung apologized for its recent performance, with market watchers expecting sub-par Q3 earnings reports. However, the company vowed to do better and reaffirmed that innovation doesn't come easily. Sacrifices have to be made along the way, and sometimes, harsh lessons need to be learned.