By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Samsung Electronics is intensifying its cost-saving efforts by asking its employees to take one unpaid day off per month.
"Under the latest decision, employees may take one Friday off every month for a three-day weekend," a spokesman said, Tuesday.
Samsung is also planning greater flexibility in extending vacations of employees to save more operational costs amid the global recession, the spokesman said.
"We expect millions of dollars to be saved from this measure alone," he added without elaborating further.
During the previous winter, Samsung decided to have its employees take 10 days off from Dec. 25 to Jan. 3.
But the company said its chip, flat-screen and handsets lines would operate normally despite the readjustment of working hours.
Samsung and LG Electronics idled some operations in memory chips and flat screens longer than usual during the year-end season.
Hynix Semiconductor is also taking steps to cut labor costs, including introducing unpaid leave.
The company recently slashed its top officials' pay, cut the number of executives and decided to make all employees take two weeks of unpaid leave before April 2009.
"Samsung's step is different from that of Hynix. Employees are encouraged to volunteer," an executive said.
Samsung Electronics reported its first-ever quarterly operating losses in the fourth quarter of last year.
Its rivals ― Nokia, Microsoft, Intel, Sony and LG Electronics ― are making cost-saving measures of their own, as global demand has evaporated and price pressure intensifies.
In line with this, Samsung slimmed down its business units, downsized its distinctive profit sharing bonus programs and even scrapped transportation fees for extra work.