Hyundai Motor and POSCO See Increasing Proportion of Employees in Their 20s, SK Hynix Expands Share of Employees in Their 50s

CXO Research Institute 'Analysis of Workforce Composition Changes by Age Group in Large Corporations'
SK Hynix, Single-Digit Proportion of Employees in Their 50s but Continues to Expand

While the proportion of employees in their 20s is increasing at Hyundai Motor, Kia, and POSCO, companies such as SK Hynix and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have seen an expansion in the proportion of employees in their 50s. In the case of SK Hynix, although the proportion of employees in their 50s is less than 10%, the growth rate has been steep. It has been pointed out that companies with a large proportion of employees in their 50s will inevitably need to reorganize their workforce due to retirements, requiring new organizational management strategies.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun attended the 2024 Hyundai Motor Group New Year's meeting last January and delivered a New Year's message of "consistent and continuous change for sustainable growth."
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

According to the '2021-2023 Major Large Corporations Workforce Composition Change Analysis by Age Group' released on the 17th by Korea CXO Institute, among 16 large corporations with employment exceeding 10,000 employees, Hyundai Motor had the largest global workforce at 123,721 employees. Samsung Electronics was excluded from this survey. The CXO Institute explained, "Samsung Electronics, the top domestic employer, was excluded because data on employees aged 50 and above was unavailable."

Looking at Hyundai Motor employees by age group, the '30s and 40s generation' accounted for the largest share at 50.8% (62,792 employees). Employees in their 50s made up 27.4% (33,950 employees), and those in their 20s accounted for 21.8% (26,979 employees).

Over the past three years, Hyundai Motor's workforce has become younger. The proportion of employees in their 50s decreased from 29.6% (35,805 employees) in 2021 to 27.6% (34,792 employees) in 2022, and then to 27.4% (33,950 employees) in 2023, while the proportion of employees in their 20s increased from 19.3% (23,689 employees) in 2021 to 20.8% (26,249 employees) in 2022, and then to 21.8% (26,979 employees) in 2023.

LG Electronics, POSCO, Samsung SDS, and Kia have also seen a steady increase in the proportion of employees in their 20s. At POSCO, the proportion of employees in their 20s rose from 16% (2,921 employees) to 16.7% (3,035 employees), and then to 18% (3,241 employees). The proportion of employees in their 50s showed a declining trend from 43.7% in 2021 to 42.7%, and then to 40.4%.

At LG Electronics, the proportion of employees in their 20s increased from 17.3% to 17.9%, and then to 18.4%. Kia also saw an increase in employees in their 20s from 2.9% (1,017 employees) to 6% (2,160 employees), and then to 7.1% (2,539 employees). The proportion of employees in their 50s decreased from 60.6% (21,508 employees) in 2021 to 55.4% (19,811 employees) last year.

However, both LG Electronics and Samsung SDS saw increases not only in their 20s but also in their 50s. The proportion of employees in their 50s at LG Electronics was 13.1%, 13.4%, and 14.5%, respectively. Samsung SDS's figures were 11.3%, 11.9%, and 15.4%.

SK Hynix, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korean Air, Samsung Display, and LG Uplus have seen an increase in the proportion of employees in their 50s.

The proportion of employees in their 50s at SK Hynix increased from 4.7% (1,815 employees) to 6.4% (2,551 employees), and then to 7.3% (2,921 employees). Meanwhile, the proportion of employees in their 20s decreased from 31.1% (11,934 employees) to 29.6% (11,889 employees), and then to 24.7% (9,833 employees). The CXO Institute stated, "SK Hynix maintained hiring of 2,500 to 3,000 employees in their 20s in 2021 and 2022 but reduced it to the 200s last year."

At HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the proportion of employees in their 50s increased from 26.9% (3,447 employees) in 2021 to 27.3% (3,484 employees) in 2022, and then to 28.9% (3,828 employees) last year. Korean Air's employees in their 50s also increased from 25.7% (4,993 employees) to 27.6% (5,281 employees), and then to 28.5% (5,541 employees). Samsung Display's 50s group rose from 13.4% (8,838 employees) to 15.3% (9,907 employees), and then to 18.7% (10,989 employees). LG Uplus increased from 15.6% (1,594 employees) to 16.4% (1,721 employees), and then to 18% (1,955 employees).

SK Hynix and LG Electronics had a large proportion of employees in their 30s and 40s, at 68% and 67.2%, respectively. For LG Electronics, the gap between employees in their 20s (18.4%) and 50s (14.5%) was within 5%, but SK Hynix showed a gap of over 15% between employees in their 20s (24.7%) and 50s (7.3%). LG Uplus (73%) and Samsung SDS (70.2%) surpassed 70% in the proportion of employees in their 30s and 40s.

Additionally, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Display, and LG Innotek had a high proportion of employees in their 20s. Samsung Electro-Mechanics' proportion of employees in their 20s last year was 40.1%, which was lower than 48.4% in 2021 and 44.1% in 2022. Samsung Display recorded 34% of employees in their 20s last year. LG Innotek had 41.5%.

Oh Il-seon, head of the CXO Institute, said, "Many companies have shifted from a 'pyramid-shaped' structure with many young employees and few middle-aged executives to a 'jar-shaped' structure with a thick middle layer of employees in their 30s and 40s. Companies with a large proportion of employees in their 50s will need new organizational management strategies to fill the vacancies left by retirements over the next five to six years."