Samsung cut jobs at its U.S. operations and offered some workers the chance to relocate ahead of moving its headquarters. The company that sells you a phone that explodes and a TV that listens to your arguments decided some Americans were unnecessary.
Relocations were offered. Picture the meeting. Your boss flies in from Seoul to explain you can keep your job if you move your family across the country to follow a refrigerator company. He's doing you a favor. You should thank him. Your wife will understand. The kids love new schools.
The display and consumer electronics divisions got hit. These are the people who convinced you that 8K resolution matters when you still watch Netflix on your laptop. They optimized the bezel. They made the remote control worse. They added seventeen picture modes you'll never use. Now they're gone.
Retail traders saw this news and immediately checked if Samsung stock trades on US exchanges. It does not. They got mad anyway. They fired off tweets about how this proves the Fed should cut rates. One guy posted that he's switching to LG. He owns neither Samsung nor LG stock. He just needed everyone to know he has principles about Korean electronics conglomerates.
The HQ move was planned months ago. Nobody cared then. But layoffs make headlines. Layoffs make people feel something. Relocations sound almost nice until you realize it means your job exists but you have to abandon your mortgage to keep it.
Samsung will issue a statement about operational efficiency and strategic realignment. They'll thank the affected employees for their service. They'll mention the exciting opportunities ahead. Then they'll hire contractors at half the price who don't get health insurance or the chance to relocate anywhere except back to their cars.
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