Key Points:
- LG Energy Solution aims for a 50% company-wide productivity increase by 2028 through AI transformation (AX).
- CEO Kim Dong-myung stressed AX as “mission-critical” for survival against heavily subsidized rivals.
- The strategy leverages LGES’s patents, expertise, and talent to reshape the competitive landscape.
- A CEO-led AI governance committee and enterprise AI platform will guide company-wide AI adoption and training.
LG Energy Solution is putting its trust in artificial intelligence (AI) transformation (AX) to regain its standing in a heavily unbalanced global battery market. The company’s CEO has vowed to increase company-wide productivity by 50% by 2028.
In a message to all employees on Monday, LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung shared an ambitious vision for the company’s AX push. He emphasized that it is “a mission-critical imperative for our survival” and laid out an aggressive plan to gain a competitive edge in the market.
Kim described the global market as a “tilted playing field.” He noted that rivals receive massive government support and have huge workforces. “Responding with a simple numbers game offers little chance of a meaningful win,” he said. “We should rewrite the rules of the game by shifting to a model focused on our core assets and talent, powered by AX.”
He identified the company’s main strengths as its extensive patent portfolio, nearly 30 years of industry experience, and a large pool of skilled employees. “If these assets combine with AX to create synergies, it could be a great opportunity to completely change the competitive landscape.”
LG Energy Solution’s decision to raise its productivity target – from an earlier goal of a 30% improvement by 2030 to a 50% gain by 2028 – shows a belief that the company must move faster and aim higher. This is necessary to seize opportunities as competitors increase their investments.
“AX is a complex challenge that must simultaneously deal with the detailed aspects of manufacturing, national core technology security, and real-world deployment,” he said. He promised strong leadership and a well-coordinated support system across the entire company.
As part of this effort, the company has formed a CEO-led AI governance committee. This committee will review the company’s AI adoption, as well as security and change management issues, every month. The company also plans to launch an enterprise AI platform, starting with non-sensitive areas. It will expand in phases while greatly increasing company-wide AI training programs.
“Just as a calculator doesn’t mean you don’t need to understand how math works, AI is best used by those who know how to define and structure problems,” he said. “AX is not a change that makes our people less important. It is a change that frees them from inefficient busywork so they can focus on the work that actually moves the business forward.”
