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| SK hynix's newly constructed DRAM plant in Icheon Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of SK hynix |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are scrambling to acquire talented staff as a major super cycle is expected to soon hit the global semiconductor market.
The chip division of Samsung Electronics recently announced a plan to hire hundreds of experienced workers, while SK hynix is set to hire over a hundred.
Talented workers in the semiconductor and information technology fields are urgently needed, and industry watchers believe "salary inflation" is in the works at these companies in order to obtain the most qualified individuals.
Last month, Samsung Electronics said it would hire experienced personnel, most of whom will be assigned to develop memory chip-related technology including DRAMs, NANDs and circuitry chips. Samsung previously brought people in the field on board in the dozens through on-demand hiring, but this year it is expected to drastically increase employment into the hundreds through open recruitment.
According to industry insiders, Samsung Electronics has been receiving applications and conducting individual interviews of a pool of experienced workers. Human resource teams at the semiconductor division's three major units ― memory, foundry and system large scale integration ― have been conducting the interviews.
Apart from the major branches, 10 out of 51 departments in the division are hiring including research, data information technology, and test system packaging.
Samsung Electronics has been conducting introductory sessions for students in doctorate programs in semiconductor-related fields at renowned local and overseas universities.
The company is also scheduled to conduct an open recruitment session for university graduates. Samsung is the only conglomerate in the top four ― Hyundai Motors, SK and LG are the other three ― to restart open recruitment.
The group's other leading technology affiliates including Samsung Display and Samsung SDI are scheduled to publish open recruitment notifications this week.
SK hynix, which ranks second globally in the memory semiconductor sector, announced its recruitment of experienced workers last week, and selected candidates are expected to be informed within the first half of the year.
Last year, SK hynix hired dozens of experienced workers but this year the number is expected to be in the hundreds.
"It is imperative to secure talented individuals especially in the semiconductor field. Most conglomerates operating in the sector have conducted large-scale recruitment around this time," an industry official said.
SK is set to hire personnel for its DRAM, NAND Flash, packaging, camera image sensor and system semiconductor divisions with many of the applicants coming from its competitors or companies in the IT and manufacturing sectors.
Earlier this year, SK hynix employees expressed dissatisfaction with the bonus payment system for 2020 ― workers protested the 20 percent bonus as it was the same as 2019 when the firm's operating profit was around half of that for last year. ?
It is also rumored that 1,500 SK hynix personnel have applied for the Samsung Electronics semiconductor division posts, leading the former to contemplate ways to hold on to its most valued workers.
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