Seven-Eleven, the convenience store chain under Lotte Group, is once again proceeding with a voluntary retirement program, following last year.
According to the retail industry on the 14th, Korea Seven, the operator of Seven-Eleven, posted a notice about voluntary retirement on the in-house bulletin board this morning. Employees at the staff level with eight or more years in their current rank and managerial staff with ten or more years in their current rank are eligible. Applications will be accepted through the 27th.
Retirees will receive severance compensation equal to 20 to 24 months of base salary, depending on rank. Staff-level employees will get 20 months, and managerial staff will get 24 months. All retirees will also receive a 10 million won job placement subsidy and children's tuition assistance (up to two college students, 10 million won per person).
Seven-Eleven introduced a voluntary retirement system in Oct. last year for the first time since its establishment in 1988, and it is implementing it for the second consecutive year in 2025.
Last year, Seven-Eleven adopted "experiences that change life" as its new slogan, overhauled its business structure, closed inefficient stores, and pushed for efficiency by reallocating around prime locations. As a result, the number of stores fell by 978, from 13,130 in 2023 to 12,152.
Korea Seven's sales in the first half of this year were 2.3866 trillion won, down 10.1% from the first half of last year. The operating loss was 42.7 billion won, an improvement of 5 billion won.
Seven-Eleven said, "Amid a trend of improving results thanks to intensive efforts for management efficiency so far, the restructuring of our fundamentals is still underway."
It added, "Restructuring the management framework, including improving organizational soundness, is a key task to secure a stable business foundation centered on revenue," noting, "Along with innovation in a performance-centered organizational culture and systems, we proceeded with voluntary retirement based on the judgment that balance is needed between the overall business scale and workforce structure."