Samsung has announced job cuts to the consumer electronics area of its business, after experiencing surging profit to its chip division.

First reported by Reuters, Samsung has made over 700 cuts at its US display, phone and other consumer electronics operations. According to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters, it mainly impacts workers in New Jersey and Texas.

It also comes as Samsung Electronics America (SEA) plans to move its headquarters to Texas. Some roles have seen relocation offers, whereas others were let go. It’s interesting timing, given that SEA employees in New Jersey only moved to new offices less than a year ago.

Documents seen by Reuters confirm that the unit notified some employees at the end of June of an “enterprise-wide reduction-in-force”, adding that there were a “significant number of impacts”.

The shift, Samsung explained in a statement, was to optimise certain functions to ensure “our roles align to key business priorities”.

The job cuts do not impact the technology giant’s chip division, which has seen record profit gains in recent months. While its chip division has boomed, its consumer electronics units have somewhat lagged.

Samsung is expecting an 1,800% operating profit jump in second-quarter profit, driven by AI chip demand. The company is also being driven by significant partnerships and investments, having recently reported detailed plans to invest 140 trillion won (US$90 billion) in South Korea’s central Chungcheong province, covering production of display panels, batteries, chips and chip materials.

Despite such success, however, Samsung’s mobile division is expected to record its first-ever loss as it competes with the likes of Apple and Hisense. Higher chip costs too are reportedly impacting earnings for the company across all its consumer electronics products.

Samsung’s highs and lows come amid continued job cuts in the wider technology sector, with companies like Oracle and Microsoft adding to the tally. According to TrueUp, a technology layoffs tacker, there have been more than 160,000 people impacted by layoffs in 2026 already – moving at a faster pace than the 245,000 workers laid off for the entire year of 2025.

It also comes as technology companies keep moving their operations to Texas, making the state an unexpected digital innovation hub. Reasons for moving business there include greater cost efficiency, a lower cost of living, a more friendly regulatory environment and more positive tax incentives.

Samsung said in a statement seen by Reuters that it currently has no plans for a broad global restructuring within its consumer product business. It said relocating the unit’s headquarters is intended to foster “stronger collaboration and optimise the organisation by bringing more teams together within a growing technology and AI ecosystem”.

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