LG Display, a supplier of components to iPhone maker Apple, will cut jobs through voluntary retirement for the first time since its founding, Reuters reported.
South Korea-based LG Display plans to receive applications in October for voluntary redundancy among employees in production that make up about 65 percent of its workforce.
The company did not disclose the number of jobs that will be impacted due to the VRS plans. Apple has announced the launch of three iPhones taking on Korea-based Samsung and China-based Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei.
The voluntary retirement offer is driven by automation as well as the company’s portfolio switch from liquid crystal display (LCD) to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens, which require fewer production personnel.
The company will secure competitiveness by increasing the portion of R&D workers and engineers.
Prices of LCD screens, the company’s mainstay, fell partly due to Chinese competition, causing LG Display to say in July it would slash $2.7 billion in capital spending planned through 2020 in order to switch its portfolio to OLED screens.
