‘Galaxy vs iPhone’ 120,000 LG employees’ choice

Input 2021.02.05 06:00

LG employees, who have 120,000 employees of core affiliates, are struggling between Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Phone and Apple iPhone. When LG Electronics withdraws from its smartphone business, there are only two smartphone options left. In terms of company profits, an iPhone equipped with an LG Display display should be chosen, but an employee familiar with the Android system can care for its rival Galaxy Phone.

According to the industry on the 4th, employees of LG affiliates are recently contemplating choosing the next smartphone. The majority of executives and employees of 123,000 core 11 affiliates, including the holding company, LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Chem, and LG Uplus (as of the September 2020 quarterly report), have used LG smartphones. As LG Electronics is currently considering various measures such as the sale of its smartphone business, it may be difficult to use its own smartphone in the future.

LG Electronics officially announced the possibility of withdrawing the smartphone business in January. On the 20th of the same month, LG Electronics President Bong-Seok Kwon sent an e-mail to an executive at the MC business division in charge of the smartphone business, saying, “LG Electronics has reached the point of making the best choice by calmly judging its current and future competitiveness in the mobile business. “He said, “We are carefully examining the direction of business operation with all possibilities open now.”

There is a chronic deficit behind LG Electronics’ announcement. The MC division recorded an operating loss for 24 consecutive quarters from the second quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2020. Only the cumulative deficit reaches 5 trillion won. Related industries and securities circles predict that LG Electronics will reduce the MC business headquarters or partially sell production facilities.

Employees of LG affiliates believe that when LG Electronics withdraws from the smartphone business, there are only two options. You have to use an iPhone produced by Apple or use Samsung’s Galaxy series. Excluding LG Electronics, there are only Samsung Electronics and Apple products in the domestic smartphone market.

The mainstream view that LG affiliates should use the iPhone. This is because Samsung Electronics is a competitor and is burdened with using the Galaxy series. There is also a reason why the main customer of the affiliate is Apple. LG Display delivered a display panel to the iPhone 12, which Apple released in October last year.

An official from an LG subsidiary said, “There is an atmosphere to use the iPhone inside the company,” he said. “In the case of LG Display, there are many OLED panels that are supplied to the iPhone, so the more iPhone is used, the more profitable it is,” he said.

Some argue that it is difficult to use the iPhone. The iPhone is not an Android system like LG Electronics or Samsung Electronics’ smartphones. Apple supports the iPhone with its own software operating system (OS), the iOS series. It can be very inconvenient as there is a large difference in use with an Android smartphone.

Another LG subsidiary said, “I can’t use the Galaxy, so I have to use the iPhone, but because I am familiar with the Android system, I think it will be difficult to use the iPhone.” “I don’t know what to do even though it’s time to replace the smartphone in use. “I can’t change it.”

According to the mobile industry, candidates for LG Electronics’ smartphone business acquisition include Vietnam’s Vingroup, Google, Microsoft (MS), Facebook, and Volkswagen. As each is interested in smartphones or related businesses, there is a prospect that they can negotiate with LG Electronics.

LG Electronics said in a conference call for the fourth quarter of 2020 held on January 29 that there was no decision on the direction of the smartphone business.

Seo Dong-myeong, LG Electronics’ MC management manager, said, “We have opened all the possibilities with the highest priority on the employment stability of our members,” and said, “There is currently no fixed plan. It is difficult to specify the final decision point of the business direction right now.”

Reporter Kim Pyeong-hwa [email protected]

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