"Consecutive Voluntary Retirements" No Exception for Large Corporations... Companies Downsizing Their Workforce

LGD Offers Voluntary Retirement to Office Workers for the First Time in 5 Years
One-Sixth Already Left KT
Retail Industry Also 'Dieting' Due to Consumer Slump

As the economic downturn hits, a wave of voluntary retirements is sweeping through companies. Faced with a recession, poor performance, and uncertainty, businesses are tightening their belts by reducing their workforce.

According to industry sources on the 16th, LG Display is conducting voluntary retirements for office workers for the first time in five years, following the voluntary retirement of production workers in June this year. From the 7th, for two weeks, employees with more than five years of service who are aged 40 or older or hold a managerial position in office roles are eligible to apply for voluntary retirement. Those who opt for voluntary retirement will receive severance pay equivalent to 30 months of their base salary and education expenses for their children.

This voluntary retirement is explained as part of efforts to advance the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) business and improve workforce efficiency. LG Display plans to complete the office worker voluntary retirement by mid-next month and will carry out organizational restructuring and personnel changes in the fourth week of this month.

Among LG affiliates, LG HelloVision is also implementing its first voluntary retirement since its founding. As part of efforts to overcome difficulties in the cable broadcasting business, applications are being accepted until the 18th from employees aged 50 or older or those with more than 10 years of service. The severance pay is equivalent to two years of annual salary, and the retirement performance bonus is calculated at 11.8% of the 2024 annual salary.

Earlier, on the 8th, KT conducted a voluntary retirement program that saw about one-sixth of its total workforce leave at once. As it began restructuring field staff such as network management and raised the voluntary retirement compensation to a maximum of 430 million KRW, approximately 2,800 employees applied for voluntary retirement. Possibly due to the unexpectedly high number of applicants, KT posted job openings for short-term contract positions responsible for line design and operation, as well as business services (corporate lines) operations to fill the gaps in field personnel.

NCSoft also saw over 500 employees apply for voluntary retirement, conducted for the first time in 12 years. From the 28th of last month to the 8th of this month, voluntary retirement applications were accepted for regular employees in game development teams scheduled for consolidation and non-development roles. Those opting for voluntary retirement will receive up to 30 months’ salary depending on their length of service.

With consumption stagnating due to high inflation and high interest rates, the distribution industry has also begun cost-efficiency efforts through voluntary retirements. Shinsegae Group’s e-commerce platform Gmarket accepted voluntary retirement applications until the 11th of last month from regular employees with more than two years of service. These employees receive a special consolation payment calculated by multiplying their monthly salary by their years of service, in addition to the statutory severance pay. Shinsegae Group’s e-commerce SSG.com also announced voluntary retirement through its internal bulletin board in July, and Lotte Shopping’s e-commerce division, Lotte ON, announced in June that it would accept voluntary retirement applications from employees with more than three years of service.

In the duty-free industry, Lotte Duty Free and HDC Shilla Duty Free both accepted voluntary retirement applications in August, and Shinsegae DF, which operates Shinsegae Duty Free, is accepting applications until the 29th. This is the first time Shinsegae DF has implemented a voluntary retirement program since its founding in 2015. Employees with more than five years of service but less than 10 years will receive severance pay equivalent to 24 months of base salary, while those with 10 years or more will receive 36 months. Additionally, a job transition support payment equivalent to next month’s salary will be provided separately.