SEOUL, KOREA - The financial service industry is facing an unprecedented wind of downsizing. Beginning in the securities industry, the payroll-cutting measures have spread to other financial segments such as insurance and banking. For the past one month alone, as many as 20,000 full-time jobs have disappeared in the whole industry.
According to financial service industry sources and the National Statistical Office on June 18, the number of workers hired in the financial service industry (defined as those who have worked for more than 1 hour a week) as of the end of May this year was 844,000, down 9,000 from the end of April. This is down 29,000 from the same month a year ago when the figure was 873,000.
Of these, the number of cuts in those workforces appeared to be full-time workers was higher than any other groups of workers. For example, The number of workers who were hired 36-44 hours a week was 442,000 in May, down 20,000 from the previous month's 462,000. That means more people with "good jobs" lost their positions in the financial industry.
Since early this year, insurance companies and securities firms have taken harsh restructuring measures to improve their financial standing. Already, Samsung Life and Hanwha Life cut their payrolls by 1,000 and 300, respectively. Other securities houses such as Hana-Daetoo, Daishin, Samsung, Tongyang, Hanwha, Woori Investment, and NH Nonghyup have let go a total of 2,300 employees this year to date. Citibank Korea and Standard Chartered are also reviewing plans to reduce their workforces after closure of several sales offices in Korea.
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