South Korea's No. 1 tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it is relocating a small portion of its workforce, denying rumors that it plans to reduce its management-related staff amid a slowdown in earnings.

"It will only be relocations of workers," a high-ranking Samsung Electronics official said, denying the market's rumor that the company will seek to cut 10 percent of its management staff in departments such as sales and public relations.

Samsung currently employs 320,000 workers worldwide, with around 100,000 hired in South Korea.

While the company did not provide details, around 1,000 workers are estimated to have management-related duties.

Samsung Electronics reported a 37.5 percent plunge in operating income of its flagship mobile business to 2.76 trillion won in the second quarter, in the face of growing competition from Chinese rivals and Apple Inc.

The tech giant went through similar efforts last year, sending out management-support teams to the mobile and consumer electronics divisions.

Samsung Electronics also decided to freeze the salaries of its employees for this year. It marked the first time since 2009 that the tech giant has suspended payraises. (Yonhap)