gettyimagesbank

Uncertainties about the current business environment have triggered workforce reductions across many industries here.

Gmarket, a Korean online shopping site, informed its employees on Friday that it plans to implement a voluntary redundancy program in response to its mounting losses and the rapidly changing market conditions.

This is the first time the e-commerce firm has encouraged its employees to voluntarily resign since Shinsegae acquired the company from eBay in 2021.

Earlier this year, Shinsegae also cut the workforce at SSG.com, another e-commerce unit, as well as at E-Mart, a supermarket chain, and E-mart Everyday, which had run small neighborhood grocery stores before being merged with E-Mart in July.

“We reached the conclusion that fundamental reform was inevitable to overcome the current difficulties and to make our business structure sustainable,” Gmarket CEO Chung Hyung-kwon told the company's employees.

On Thursday, SK On initiated its first-ever voluntary redundancy program and started offering unpaid leave, as part of efforts to cope with the challenging electric vehicle (EV) market conditions.

Among Korea's top three EV battery makers, it is the only company that has not made a profit.

“These are proactive measures to establish a lean, agile workforce, so that we can better navigate the shifting EV market conditions,” an SK On spokesperson said.

SK Telecom notified its employees last Monday of its plan to offer two years of paid leave and a lump sum of up to 300 million won ($230,000) to each employee who leaves the company voluntarily.

Samsung Electronics recently instructed subsidiaries worldwide to reduce sales and marketing staff by about 15 percent and administrative staff by up to 30 percent.

NCSOFT has been trying to dismiss hundreds of employees to streamline its business.

Other Korean companies that have sought to reduce their workforces this year include LG Chem, LG Display, Daewoo E&C, CJ Logistics, Hanwha Systems, Lotte Shopping, Lotte Duty Free, Kakao VX, Golden Blue and Yogiyo.

Korea's top four commercial banks reduced the number of new employees this year, following their series of voluntary redundancies over the past few years.

Given that the composite business sentiment index based on a Bank of Korea (BOK) survey has fallen for the third straight month in September, more companies are expected to commence downsizing and come up with various cost reduction measures.

“The oversupply caused by China's economic slowdown has intensified competition in the Korean market, apparently affecting the primary metal, chemical and automotive industries,” a BOK official said.

“There also remain concerns about the U.S. recession and uncertainties about the country's presidential election.”