Hynix says to offer 2-wk unpaid leave to cut costs

SEOUL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS) said on Sunday it would have its employees on unpaid leave for two weeks between January and April as it seeks to slash labour costs to fight falling sales and mounting losses.

Hynix said it was seeking to cut labour costs by more than 15 percent by implementing two weeks of unpaid leave, slashing the number of executives by 30 percent, cutting its chief executive's pay by 30 percent and taking up a voluntary retirement programme.

The company has already asked its shareholders for up to 1 trillion won ($678.1 million) in fresh funding as the global memory chip industry faces a prolonged slump and rapidly weakening consumer demand amid the global downturn. [ID:nSEO330389]

The world's No.2 memory chip maker reported a 1.65 trillion won net loss in July-September, its worst quarterly results in nearly eight years. ($1=1,474.5 Won) (Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)