S-Oil Abruptly Halts Recruitment Process After Aptitude Test... "Second-Quarter Results Worsen"

Recruitment of New Regional Retail Sales Employees Abruptly Canceled
Hopes for Performance Rebound Dashed as Losses Expected to Continue

S-Oil has completely halted its recruitment process for new regional retail sales employees. It is reported that the company abruptly withdrew its hiring plans after projecting its provisional second-quarter results internally. Following an operating loss of 21.5 billion won in the first quarter, S-Oil appears to have determined that it would be difficult to improve its performance in the second quarter as well, due to continued low oil prices and stagnant demand.

According to the oil refining industry on June 11, S-Oil sent an email the previous day to applicants for the retail sales position, notifying them that the recruitment process had been "unavoidably suspended." The position in question is responsible for managing gas station sales performance, acquiring new clients, and maintaining existing business relationships. S-Oil had originally planned to hire up to 10 new employees for this role, posting the job announcement in April and conducting an aptitude test on May 4. Two rounds of interviews were scheduled to follow.

S-Oil Onsan Plant overview. Photo by Asia Economy DB

However, as internal projections recently indicated that the company would continue to post a deficit in the second quarter, following the first quarter, S-Oil decided to halt the recruitment process. The company explained, "We have decided to reconsider our hiring plans due to the deterioration of the external business environment, including global economic uncertainty and changes in tariff policies."

Applicants who had already completed the aptitude test expressed their confusion and disappointment at the sudden cancellation of the recruitment process. S-Oil stated that, if recruitment for the same position resumes in the future, those who passed the document screening in this round will be exempt from the document review stage.

Meanwhile, S-Oil is also reconsidering its overall new employee recruitment plans. It has not yet decided whether to hold open recruitment in the second half of the year. In the first quarter of this year, S-Oil's sales amounted to 8.9905 trillion won, a 3.4% decrease compared to the same period last year, and it posted a net loss of 44.6 billion won, shifting into the red.