Samsung India's profit fell by 36% in the 2026 fiscal year, while revenue grew by 1.2%

Two sources familiar with the departure reported on Tuesday that Rajiv Aggarwal, head of public relations and ESG for Samsung India, resigned after nearly four years in the position.

Sources, who wished to remain anonymous due to the confidentiality of the details, specified that Aggarwal, who oversaw the interaction between the South Korean tech giant and the Indian government, is in his final week at Samsung India.

The 57-year-old former Indian bureaucrat, who has experience working at Uber and Meta, declined to comment on his resignation. Samsung Electronics did not respond to Reuters' requests.

Recently, companies such as Samsung and Apple have faced demands from the Indian government regarding the pre-installation of government applications, which they objected to on privacy grounds. Furthermore, Samsung is one of the companies challenging the Indian government's policy in court concerning increased payments to enterprises involved in electronic waste recycling.

The company holds 16.2 percent of the Indian smartphone market, sharing this position with Oppo and trailing market leader Vivo. In 2023, Samsung was the leader of the Indian smartphone market.

Samsung India has made a significant decision regarding its employees. Specifically, around 80-100 executives in the television and home appliance segments have been laid off. According to reports, the layoffs affect various personnel groups within the company, including directors, team leads, branch managers, and regional managers.

The primary reasons cited for this decision are rising operational costs and weakening sales. Recently, the cost of memory chips has increased significantly, more than doubling. This rise in expenses has increased the costs for companies producing televisions and other electronics.

Furthermore, the weakening of the Indian rupee has impacted Samsung. The increased cost of imported components has raised the production cost of the company's products. As a result, it has become more difficult to maintain the previous profit margin while selling products at low prices.

Currently, the layoffs primarily affect the television and home appliance business. However, the report indicates the possibility of further employee reductions. Samsung employs between 550 and 600 specialists in its consumer electronics sales and marketing departments, and up to 25 percent of these employees may be affected. This group includes both permanent and contract staff.

The company provides laid-off employees with severance pay, which includes approximately three months' salary, plus an additional monthly salary for each year of service.

The smartphone business is not currently affected by these cuts. The company anticipates a boost in smartphone sales during the upcoming festive season and Diwali. Nevertheless, the smartphone market is also not showing complete resilience; according to the report, the annual volume of smartphone sales in India has decreased by approximately 11-12 percent.

To reduce costs, Samsung India also plans to merge some regional offices. The company's focus is on decreasing costly operations and streamlining its activities. The report also suggests that further workforce changes may occur in the TV and home appliance segment after Diwali.

Despite this, the overall operations of Samsung India are not in critical condition, and the company's overall performance remains strong. Thus, this reduction is viewed as an attempt to maintain profit margins amid rising costs and declining sales, particularly in the television and home appliance segment.