LG Electronics to freeze wages for this year

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Co. said Friday its labor and
management agreed to freeze employee wages this year as part of efforts to
overcome the deepening economic downturn.
"Employee wages for this year will be frozen at their current levels to cope with
the economic slump," said LG Electronics, South Korea's second-largest
electronics maker.
The company also said that it will take part in the government-initiated "job
sharing" program aimed at averting U.S.-style layoffs and redirecting savings
from wage cuts into retaining workers.
Last week, the company's larger rival, Samsung Electronics Co., said this year's
wages for its employees will be frozen.
LG and Samsung are among a growing number of South Korean companies that are
tightening their belts to ride out the worst economic crisis in more than 11
years.
Hit by tumbling exports and stubbornly anemic domestic demand, the South Korean
economy is widely expected to shrink this year in the first annual contraction
since the 1997-98 financial crisis.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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