Samsung expands six-day workweek for executives

[Photo by MK DB]

Samsung Group is expanding its six-day workweek policy for executives across the entire workplace as it seeks to remain vigilant in the face of a rapidly changing business environment.

According to Samsung Group on Wednesday, executives from various subsidiaries, including Samsung SDI Co., Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Samsung SDS Co., and Samsung Display Co., will need to work on either Saturday or Sunday.

The policy was previously limited to certain affiliates such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung C&T Corp.

Samsung Electronics‘ Device Solutions (DS) division swung to a profit in the first quarter on the back of market recovery but industry insiders note that full recovery will take time.

Losing ground to rival SK hynix Inc. in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market is seen as a significant setback for the company, especially as HBM demand is surging due to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).

The mobile phone business also faces challenges, with total smartphone shipments declining 3.2 percent year-over-year in 2023, according to IDC.

Executives in support and development departments at Samsung Electronics have already been operating on a six-day work schedule for an extended period, but now, executives in sales and production-related departments are also joining the six-day work week.

Executives from engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) branches, such as Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries Co., and Samsung E&A Co., have been on a six-day work schedule since January.

The group’s financial arms have yet to adopt the policy, with potential implementation under consideration.

Samsung Group currently does not operate any attendance management system for executives, meaning weekend work participation remains unmonitored.

However, reports indicate that the weekend workload matches that of weekdays. Staff-level employees, however, are strictly prohibited from working on weekends.