SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) - Samsung Electronics is preparing to cut 10 per cent of workers at its headquarters, according to a Korean newspaper, as the world's biggest smartphone maker loses sales to Apple and Chinese vendors.

Samsung is targeting workers in the human resources, public relations and finance departments, Korea Economic Daily reported on Tuesday (Sept 8), citing people it didn't identify. The company also plans to cut some expenses next year, the report added. Samsung declined to comment in an e-mail.

The moves come after new high-end Galaxy smartphones failed to impress consumers, triggering five straight monthly declines and wiping out more than US$40 billion (S$57.15 billion) in Samsung's market value since April. The company's share of global smartphone shipments fell more than 3 percentage points in the second quarter, and it's no longer the top seller in China, the world's biggest mobile-phone market.

Samsung shares fell 0.4 per cent to 1,108,000 won as of 9:39 am in Seoul, extending their decline this year to 17 per cent.

Samsung tried to attract customers before this week's product launch from Apple by advancing the release of new Galaxy models. Yet that failed to ease market concerns about its second-half earnings, when technology companies typically benefit from the year-end holiday shopping season.

Samsung, which had 206.2 trillion won (S$244.3 billion) in sales last year, is estimated to post about 200.2 trillion won in sales this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.