Listed firms of top 10 groups shed 4,700 employees in H1

Listed affiliates of South Korea's top 10 conglomerates slashed their payrolls by a combined 4,700 in the first half of the year, with two-thirds of the lost jobs reported in the shipbuilding sector that's been hit hard by the prolonged slump, data showed Wednesday.

A total of 641,390 were employed by listed companies affiliated with the top 10 business groups at end-June, inching down 0.7 percent from the end of 2015, according to the data compiled by the corporate tracker Chaebul.com.

The shipbuilding sector lost the highest number of employees, at 3,229, as major companies were grappling with huge operating losses in the wake of the worldwide industry slump.

The nation's big three -- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. -- had a combined 51,353 workers as of June, down 5.9 percent from six months earlier, their financial statements showed.

By company, Samsung Group, the nation's largest conglomerate, carried out the biggest layoffs, shedding 6,176 to have 184,294 as of June, largely attributable to the restructuring of its shipbuilding unit and Samsung SDI Co.'s sale of its chemical business.

In contrast, Hyundai Motor Group recruited 1,339 in the first half to have 138,836, mostly brought on by flagship unit Hyundai Motor, its regulatory briefing showed. (Yonhap)