In Samsung's town in Vietnam, workers confident of riding out Note 7 storm

THAI NGUYEN, VIETNAM (Oct 17): As Samsung Electronics struggles to salvage its reputation after the safety problems that have beset its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, the South Korean company can at least bank on an army of Vietnamese workers for support.

Tens of thousands of them are involved in assembling more than a third of Samsung's smartphones - the Galaxy Note 7 included - in the Pho Yen area of Thai Nguyen province, which is about 65 km north of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. Samsung's arrival three years ago transformed it from a sleepy farming district into a sprawling industrial town.

While the company expects to take a profit hit of around US$5 billion ($7 billion) from the scrapping of the fire-prone phone, 13 workers interviewed by Reuters outside the factory almost all said they are confident their employer will pull through. They also say Samsung pays well, offers good benefits and takes care of their needs.

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