Large South Korean companies have cut their combined workforce by more than 1% over the past two years amid the Covid-19 pandemic, reports The Korea Bizwire, citing data from the Leaders Index. The number of workers hired by 313 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales came to 1.24 million as of end-September this year, down 1.02%, or around 12,800, from two years earlier. These companies removed approximately 18,200 regular jobs over the cited period, while increasing the number of non-regular workers by about 5,400. Women took the brunt of the job reductions as they accounted for 67% of those laid off. Male workers took up 74% of their combined workforce as of the end of September. IT and electric and electronic companies hired around 8,900 more workers during the two-year period, while retailers, wholesalers and distribution firms cut nearly 11,300 jobs.