[THINK ENGLISH] 유통업계 실적부진에 “희망퇴직 받습니다”…11번가는 35세부터 대상
Published: 06 Dec. 2023, 16:00
![Employees of Incheon Regional Customs inspect directly purchased overseas goods at a logistics center in Incheon on Nov. 22. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2023/12/06/6469b7eb-102d-4fe4-8cbf-bc84d555ab7f.jpg)
Employees of Incheon Regional Customs inspect directly purchased overseas goods at a logistics center in Incheon on Nov. 22. [NEWS1]
Desperate Korean retailers urge workers to voluntarily resign
유통업계 실적부진에 “희망퇴직 받습니다”…11번가는 35세부터 대상
Korea JoongAng Daily 1면 기사
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023
Korean retailers are pushing for voluntary resignations to slim down their workforces amid a prolonged period of tough trading. “It’s a winter colder than ever,” said a retail industry insider, who requested anonymity.
desperate: 필사적인
resignation: 사직
prolonged: 오래 계속되는
trading: 상거래, 영업
anonymity: 익명
유통업체들이 장기화되는 부진 속에 인력 구조조정을 위해 희망퇴직에 나섰다. 익명을 원한 한 유통업체 관계자는 “어느 때보다 차가운 겨울”이라고 말했다.
Ecommerce platform 11Street, affiliated to SK Group, started asking its workers to resign voluntarily Monday, according to an industry insider on Tuesday. The scheme is open to employees who are over the age of 35 and have worked at the company for at least five continuous years, and offers four months’ worth of wages as severance pay. It is the first time 11Street has opened a voluntary resignation scheme since its launch in 2008.
severance pay: 퇴직금
화요일(11월 28일) 업계에 따르면 SK그룹의 계열사인 전자상거래 플랫폼 11번가는 월요일부터 희망퇴직을 받기 시작했다. 35세 이상으로 근속연수 5년 이상인 직원이 대상으로 4개월치 급여를 지급하는 조건이다. 11번가가 희망퇴직을 받는 것은 2008년 창립 이후 처음이다.
“The [scheme’s] purpose is to support our employees’ search for a new career path,” said the company, but added that “it is an efficient measure that will allow for the sustained growth and survival for both the company and its members.”
career path: 경력 경로
sustained: 지속적인
회사 측은 “구성원들의 다음 진로 모색을 지원하기 위한 목적”이라며 “회사와 구성원 모두 지속해서 성장하고 생존할 수 있는 효율적 방안”이라고 말했다.
11Street has posted operating losses for the past three years, from 2020 to 2022. Although accumulated losses during the first three quarters of this year shrank by 14.1 percent on-year, the company still remains in the red. Its losses came to 91 billion won ($70.6 million) from the January to September period this year.
operating loss: 영업손실
accumulated loss: 누적손실
in the red: 적자인
11번가는 2020년부터 2022년까지 최근 3년 동안 영업손실을 기록했다. 올해 1~3분기 누적손실은 전년대비 14.1% 감소했지만 여전히 적자다. 올해 1~9월 영업손실은 910억원을 기록했다.
The retailer's move to go public along with a plan to sell the company also fell through. 11Street received a 500 billion won investment from Nile Holdings — a consortium created by the National Pension Service, MG Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCC) and private equity fund H&Q Partners Korea — on the condition of going public by the end of the year, but gave up the plan due to difficult business conditions. Acquisition negotiations with Singaporebased ecommerce platform Qoo10 were also halted.
fall through: 실현되지 못하다
National Pension Service: 국민연금
private equity fund: 사모펀드
on the condition of: ~라는 조건 아래
go public: 상장하다
acquisition: 인수
상장과 매각도 무산됐다. 국민연금과 MG새마을금고중앙회 및 사모펀드 H&Q파트너스 등으로 구성된 나일홀딩스컨소시엄으로부터 올해 말까지 상장한다는 조건으로 5000억원을 투자받았지만 어려운 경영 여건으로 인해 결국 그 계획을 접었다. 싱가포르 전자상거래 플랫폼인 큐텐과의 매각 협상도 중단했다.
Lotte Homeshopping, having long suffered from deteriorating sales performances, asked employees to voluntarily resign in September, which was also the company’s first time to do so. The resignation scheme was open to employees over the age of 45 who have worked at the company for at least five continuous years. The severance packages included two years’ worth of wages, re-employment subsidies and education subsidies for the employees’ children. “In order to cope with changes in the distribution and media environment, we launched voluntary resignation schemes for the purpose of organizational change,” said an insider at the company.
deteriorating: 악화되고 있는
severance package: 퇴직금
subsidy: 보조금
distribution: 유통, 분배
voluntary resignation scheme: 희망퇴직 제도
실적 악화에 빠진 롯데홈쇼핑은 지난 9월 사상 처음으로 희망퇴직을 실시했다. 대상은 근속연수 5년 이상 45세 이상 직원이다. 2년치 연봉과 재취업 지원금, 그리고 자녀 교육 지원금이 지급됐다. 이 회사 관계자는 “유통·미디어 환경 변화에 대응하기 위해 조직 변화의 목적으로 자발적 희망퇴직을 실시했다”고 말했다.
Maeil Dairies, Korea’s second-largest dairy company by market share, and SPC Paris Croissant, which operates the bakery franchise Paris Baguette, also cut down on staff in August and September, respectively. Executives and employees over the age of 50 were asked to voluntarily resign at Maeil Dairies, while Paris Croissant asked employees who have worked at the company for at least 15 continuous years. Paris Croissant is currently accepting retirement applications.
dairy: 유제품
respectively: 각각
유업계 2위인 매일유업과 베이커리 프랜차이즈 파리바게트를 운영하는 파리크라상 역시 지난 8월과 9월 각각 직원 구조조정을 했다. 매일유업은 50세 이상 임직원, 파리크라상은 근속 15년 이상 직원이 대상이었다. 파리크라상은 현재 퇴직 신청을 받는 중이다.
Major retail conglomerates also face major issues. Shinsegae replaced 40 percent of its affiliates’ CEOs in a massive personnel upheaval. Lotte rolled out voluntary resignation schemes one to two years ago for its department store and duty-free shop businesses, the first time for the group to do so, ahead of its home shopping division.
affiliate: 계열사
upheaval: 격변, 대변동
roll out: 시작하다
대형 유통그룹들도 위기에 직면했다. 신세계는 지난 9월 계열사 대표이사 40%를 교체하는 대규모 인사를 단행했다. 롯데는 1~2년 전 백화점과 면세점에 대해 창사 이래 처음으로 희망퇴직을 실시했다.
The financial investment industry expects the drop in consumption to continue even in 2024. “The state of household disposable incomes isn’t good due to the prolonged hike in prices and interest rates as well as higher utility bills, which will lead to a continued slump in overall consumption next year,” said Cho Sang-hoon, a researcher at Shinhan Securities.
disposable income: 가처분소득
utility bill: 전기·가스·수도 요금
금융투자 업계는 소비침체가 2024년에도 이어질 것으로 내다봤다. 조상훈 신한투자증권 연구원은 “고물가·고금리 환경의 장기화로 가계 가처분소득 상황이 좋지 않은데다 공공요금까지 인상돼 내년에도 전반적 소비가 침체할 것”이라고 말했다.
WRITTEN BY KIM JU-YEON AND TRANSLATED BY PARK HYE-MIN [park.hyemin@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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