Samsung India Faces Layoffs as Memory Chip Costs Rise, 100 Executives Asked to Leave

Samsung India has begun reducing the number of employees in its home appliance and television divisions. The action was made because the electronics giant's operations in India are under pressure due to a combination of growing expenses, declining consumer demand, and a larger restructuring. According to multiple media sources, the corporation has so far requested 80–100 executives to resign. Employees at all levels, including branch and area managers, team leads at the headquarters, and director-level officials, are being laid off in groups.

How Samsung Executing its Layoffs?

This move is made in response to the current difficulties faced by Samsung's operations in India. There has been significant pressure on sales and margins due to the doubling of memory chip prices, the depreciation of the Indian rupee, poorer smartphone volumes, and increased raw material costs. The television and home appliance divisions of Samsung are presently the targets of the layoffs. Nevertheless, a bigger scale is possible. Up to a quarter of Samsung's electronics sales and marketing staff might be impacted, according to one industry expert who spoke with a media outlet.

Workers engaged through staffing agencies are also considered part of this category, as are those who work directly for the business. An additional 550–600 executives make up Samsung's domestic electronics sales force, in addition to the considerably bigger smartphone sales organisation. An impacted worker reported that, for the previous several days, termination letters were sent out in tiny batches every day, with some workers being requested to leave without being given their notice. Severance compensation from Samsung is three months' salary plus one extra month's pay for each year of service, as stated in the report.

Core Reasons Behind Samsung’s Layoffs

Samsung India is facing pressure from multiple quarters. The rapid increase in memory chip prices has been a challenge for the company. Additionally, approximately a 10% drop in the rupee from FY25 to FY26 has added to the cost of smartphones and other electronic goods. This has occurred just as the smartphone market in India is showing signs of weakness. Based on industry estimates cited in media reports, the annual decline in smartphone volumes is estimated to be 11–12%. In India, where mobile phones generate almost three quarters of Samsung's revenue, the smartphone industry takes on added significance.

Although the company has made strong attempts this year, it has still not been able to extend its foothold in the high-value air-conditioner segment. Its consumer electronics division is already feeling the pinch from rising raw material costs. The current round of layoffs at Samsung did not affect their smartphone workforce. Samsung anticipates demand to rise during the next Diwali season, and smartphones continue to be the company's biggest business in India. The broader Indian business could get some respite if sales increase during the festive season.