Major domestic IT service corporations are cutting back on new hiring. As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly replaces tasks such as development and testing, demand for workers has decreased. Over the past three years, the share of employees under 30 at these corporations has fallen, while the share of employees 50 and older has increased.
On the 14th, according to each company's sustainability (ESG) report, most major IT service corporations reduced new hiring in 2025 compared with 2023. Samsung SDS fell 33.0% from 3,643 to 2,442, Hyundai AutoEver fell from 915 to 517 (43.5%), LG CNS fell from 544 to 407 (25.2%), POSCO DX fell from 248 to 107 (56.9%), and Shinsegae I&C fell from 178 to 36 (79.8%). Only Lotte Innovate increased hiring, rising from 135 to 142.
Compared with 2023, employees under 30 at Samsung SDS decreased from 3,792 to 3,569 in 2025, while employees over 50 increased from 4,033 to 4,324. During the same period at Hyundai AutoEver, employees under 30 fell from 1,291 to 1,257, and employees 50 and older surged from 225 to 689. LG CNS also saw employees 29 and under decrease from 888 to 761, while employees 50 and older rose from 1,839 to 2,103.
Shinsegae I&C likewise saw employees under 30 decrease from 243 to 105, while employees 50 and older increased from 61 to 116. Lotte Innovate also reduced employees under 30 from 714 to 503, but employees over 50 increased from 355 to 447. POSCO DX, by contrast, showed a different pattern from other corporations. Employees under 30 increased from 322 to 341, while employees over 50 decreased from 784 to 741.
These corporations continued their earnings growth while cutting back on entry-level hiring. Samsung SDS posted 13.9299 trillion won in revenue and 957.1 billion won in operating profit in 2025. Compared with 2023, revenue rose 4.9% and operating profit rose 18.4%. LG CNS also recorded 6.1295 trillion won in revenue and 551.8 billion won in operating profit last year, up 9.4% and 18.9% from 2023, respectively, but reduced new hiring.
Hyundai AutoEver's revenue and operating profit last year were 4.2521 trillion won and 255.3 billion won, up 38.7% and 40.7% from 2023, while new hiring fell 43.5%. Shinsegae I&C also saw revenue and operating profit rise to 687.2 billion won and 49.1 billion won last year, up 11.0% and 22.9% from 2023, but new hiring plunged by about 80%.
In the industry, the view is that demand for labor has declined as adoption of Generative AI has taken off since last year. As IT service corporations, made up mainly of developers and office staff, actively introduce coding tools and AI agents across their operations, AI is replacing a significant portion of basic tasks. With repetitive work once handled by entry-level developers—such as code writing and testing, and document drafting—becoming automated, the need for large-scale entry-level hiring has fallen compared with before.
An IT service industry official said, "With the adoption of Generative AI, development productivity has increased, and it is true that demand for entry-level talent has declined compared with the past," adding, "Entry-level hiring is more than simply adding headcount; it is an investment to secure future competitiveness and also carries the meaning of creating jobs for society, so we plan to continue it in consideration of the business environment and workforce needs."