From The Korea Times, February 1:
Korea's leading battery makers are tightening discipline among their executives and employees amid a slowdown in the global demand for electric vehicles to tackle worsening profitability, industry officials said on Thursday.
Lee Seok-hee, who became SK On CEO in December after resigning as SK hynix CEO two years ago, said Tuesday he will give up 20 percent of his annual salary until the battery firm turns a profit.
He also asked executives to come to the office by 7 a.m. to devise business plans and increase communication.
SK On will disclose its 2023 earnings result next Tuesday. Analysts estimate the company's operating loss during the fourth quarter of last year at around 198 billion won ($148 million), contrary to its previous forecast that it would start making its first-ever quarterly operating profit from that quarter.
"We are facing the crisis of a slowdown in market growth in the aftermath of the U.S. interest rate hikes and the global economic recession," Lee reportedly said in a meeting with SK On executives. "To achieve the goal of making 2024 the first year of turnaround, all executives, including the CEO, should make every effort to overcome the crisis."
LG Energy Solution (LGES) halved the bonus for its performance in 2023 after its fourth-quarter operating profit dropped 53.7 percent from the previous quarter to 338.2 billion won, falling short of the market consensus of 600 billion won....
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