South Korea’s shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries fired 81 of its 262 executive level managers in a desperate attempt at restructuring after the company posted a dismal USD 1 billion deficit in 2Q 2014, The Korea Herald reports.
HHI’s vice chairman Choi Kil-sun and the recently named CEO Kwon Oh-gap this Sunday announced the decision to over 260 executives gathered for an emergency meeting.
”Company chairman Choi Gil-seon and CEO Kwon presided over a meeting with executives Sunday morning, calling on them to do everything they can to get the company back on track,” a HHI spokesman said.
”We will reappoint executives capable of leading the organization in the rapidly changing business environment. At the same time, we will choose and appoint new faces to executive posts to make the company more dynamic and agile.”
The new CEO, appointed on September 15, soon after the release of the company’s results, had previously considered cutting the salaries of the top executives, but it seems that the alarming situation called for more drastic measures to be taken.
High-level officials at the Hyundai Heavy Industries, together with their counterparts from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries are the ones reportedly targeted by this move.
Apart for making changes to the top levels, the company is also reportedly shifting a great deal of office workers to plants, or reassigning them as sales personnel. HHI is also planning to set up an ad-hoc task force to cut costs and improve efficiency.