GSK Korea has again set about to reduce its workforce through an early retirement program (ERP).

According to industry insiders, GSK recently announced the ERP plan for its sales representatives, saying it would accept applications from Aug. 17-30. It is the third ERP the Korean offshoot of GSK has conducted over the past five years.

A GSK Korea official confirmed that the company has launched another ERP. "We have started operating an ERP," a company official said to Korea Biomedical Review, asking to remain anonymous due to the company's policy. "However, the company is not moving with a specific downsizing target."

The GSK Korea official declined to comment on the specifics of the ERP.

However, industry sources have said that the company would provide a severance payment of double the number of years of service plus the average wage of eight months. The company will also provide an additional 40 million won ($30,314) for employees who have worked at the company for 15 years or more and add another month's salary for those who apply for the ERP by next Tuesday.

According to the sources, there is a rumor among employees that GSK Korea plans to cut the sales force of its respiratory division by half and close its CNS (Central Nervous System) and psychiatric divisions.

However, GSK Korea denied such rumors as groundless.

"The rumors surrounding the downsizing of our business division are not true," the GSK official said. "In the case of CNS division, the company plans to adopt a new business model ."

However, the official declined to comment on the rumors surrounding the respiratory and psychiatric division, commenting that the company believes it inappropriate to talk about the internal organizational part.

Meanwhile, the labor union of GSK Korea stressed that the company did not discuss the ERP with the union and that the union is discussing measures to respond to the sudden ERP.