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Dec.20 (NBD) -- Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology Co Ltd (Tianjing Samsung Telecom), a smartphone plant of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (Samsung) that is going to be closed by the end of this month, held its first internal job fair on Wednesday.  

The job fair is initiated by one of the stakeholder of the smartphone plant -- Tianjin Zhonghuan Electronic and Information (Group) Co Ltd, with a total of nine associated companies offering about 200 vacancies.

However, it is far from what is really needed. Currently, the smartphone plant has around 2,500 employees. But the closure has also affected about 700 employees in its telecom research institute Samsung R&D Institute China-Tianjin and logistics employees for smartphones in Samsung SDS (China) Co Ltd.

Several employees of the closing smartphone plant told news outlet the 21st Century Business Herald it's not known how many people can get a new job in the Samsung system in the end, but 115 employees have been chosen from different departments as representatives. At last, 11 of them will sit down with Samsung at the negotiation table to discuss a detailed settlement plan. 

Some employees of the smartphone plant also disclosed that Samsung offers two options for employees after the closure decision: to get a job at other related companies or to be laid off. However, the settlement plan only suits for employees in the manufacturing-related positions. That means those in managing positions, which account for about one fifth of the total, are not guaranteed to get a job in the Samsung system.

With regard to the detailed settlement plan, Samsung China side hasn't responded to the 21st Century Business Herald as of press time.

Founded in 2001, Tianjing Samsung Telecom is a joint venture formed by Samsung and Tianjing Zhonghuan Electronic and Information with an investment of 104 million U.S. dollars.

A senior worker under a pseudonym Yang Lin said that he has witnessed the whole development process the smartphone plant. 2013 is the most glorious year for the company with a monthly production of 10 million cell phones, Yang recalled. 

Samsung took up 20 percent of the cell phone market in China in 2013, ranking first among all players, according to statistics of research institute Counterpoint. However, sales of Samsung cell phones began to decline since then.

According to market information provider IDC China, Samsung held a market share of 0.9 percent in the country in the first three quarters of this year, down from less than 3 percent in 2017 and 5.5 percent in 2016.

To cut costs, Samsung is gradually transferring its production to factories in South China's Huizhou and Vietnam.

Yang said he hopes the company will deal with the employees the way its Shenzhen factory did. "I want to get a decent compensation or get for a job with the same title in other associated companies , he added.

In fact, Samsung announced early this month that it will invest up to 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in new projects including a world's leading power battery production line and automotive MLCC plant in Tianjing.

Yang said related companies should accept those employees from the smartphone plant because most of them have over 10 years of work experience in the system and have accustomed to the management and corporate culture of Samsung.

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn