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[Apha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] With Kakao's stock price and earnings outlook bleak, the Kakao labor union has taken collective action over restructuring of its affiliates.
The Kakao union 'Crew Union' held an internal meeting on the 31st and discussed future assembly schedules. The union, which held a rally to demand job security in front of the Pangyo building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 26th, is considering continuing the rally every week or every other week. At that time, the union delivered a letter of protest to Kim Bum-soo, head of the Kakao Future Initiative Center. It is understood that we have not received an answer yet.
In particular, the union takes issue with the process of restructuring its affiliates. A labor union official said, "The company unilaterally notified us that it would receive applications for voluntary retirement." Recently, Kakao received applications for voluntary retirement after implementing a "community movement support program" in which some affiliates relocate their jobs or move to other affiliates. However, some employees of affiliates claimed to the union that they had been appeased by company officials to apply for voluntary retirement.
Financial information provider FnGuide estimates Kakao's sales and operating profit will be KRW 2.709 trillion and KRW 124.4 billion in the second quarter. Operating profit is estimated to fall by 27% year-on-year. Kakao's operating profit in the first quarter was 71.1 billion won, down 55.2% from a year earlier. At the time of the first-quarter earnings announcement, Kakao had announced that it would close its less competitive business.
Kakao shares are also sluggish. The stock price, which rose to 173,000 won on June 24, 2021, has not exceeded the level of 40,000 won to 50,000 won over the past month. In other words, it has become a third in two years.
Ahn Jae-min, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "I believe that the sluggish share price of Kakao in the first half was due to the weakening of AI-related momentum. did. He then predicted that Kakao's performance would gradually improve as the advertising industry entered a recovery phase.
AlphaBIZ 폴 리(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
