Exclusive: Samsung Electronics TV Business Division, Deep in the Red, Weighs Moving Staff to Subsidiary Samsung Display

The Financial News has learned that Samsung Electronics, long hailed as a TV powerhouse after holding the No. 1 spot in the global TV market for 20 consecutive years, is considering transferring part of the workforce in its TV Business Division, the Visual Display (VD) Business Division, to its subsidiary Samsung Display. The move is being reviewed as a way to streamline manpower amid structurally weak demand and deteriorating profitability. Because the plan involves reallocating staff to a subsidiary rather than shifting them within Samsung Electronics, industry observers see it as an unusual restructuring step and a sign of mounting pressure on the TV business.
According to the domestic home appliance industry on the 30th, Samsung Electronics is currently holding interviews with junior-level employees in business teams such as the panel development team within the Visual Display Business Division about possible transfers to Samsung Display. A Samsung Electronics official stated, "I understand that some staff members in certain business teams have been interviewed individually," and added, "There is a lot of interest in whether these job-change interviews will expand to other teams across the VD division."
The review of downsizing the Visual Display Business Division is widely seen as a cost-cutting measure in response to poor performance. In the second half of last year alone, the VD and Digital Appliances (DA) divisions posted operating losses of about 700 billion won, ending the year in the red. They were the only business units at Samsung Electronics to record an operating loss last year. The outlook for this year is also bleak, with many expecting losses to continue under intense competition from Chinese manufacturers. Analysts say this is closely linked to the emergency management regime that has been in place across the Samsung Electronics DX Division (Device eXperience) since last year.
Until now, Samsung Electronics has frequently moved employees between business divisions through internal job-change systems such as its free-agency-style "Job Posting" program. However, many note that it is highly unusual for transfers to a separate legal entity like Samsung Display to be on the table. Because this is happening while the TV business continues to struggle, many inside the company see it as a signal of structural reorganization. An industry source said, "There are even rumors that employees could move not only to the display unit but also to other affiliates, and this is reinforcing the perception that downsizing of the VD division is virtually a done deal."
one1@fnnews.com Jung Won-il, Lim Su-bin and Kim Jun-seok Reporter