The harsher-than-expected downsizing of executive posts at Hyundai Heavy Industries Group reflects the sense of crisis building up in Korea’s manufacturing industry.

Hyundai Heavy, which forms the world’s largest shipbuilding group along with its two affiliates ― Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries ― shed one-third of its executive positions last week.

The drastic executive layoff plan, part of the group’s sweeping austerity drive, was carried out with lightning speed. It took resignations from all 262 executives Oct. 12 and announced Friday that 81 of them should go home.

Although the action was swifter and more sweeping than had been expected, it would have been inevitable for the company to streamline its management after it received its worst-ever report card.

The shipbuilder reported a net loss of 616.6 billion won ($593.6 million) in the second quarter and its operating loss reached a record 1.11 trillion won. Its share price plummeted to one-fifth of what it was 3 1/2 years ago.

While the dismal performance by the world’s No. 1 shipbuilder did shock many, what’s more troubling is that Hyundai Heavy is not the only one suffering from difficulties, as the Korean manufacturing sector overall is in a slump.

The Bank of Korea statistics show that the combined sales at the nation’s 113,155 manufacturing firms managed to increase 0.5 percent last year, the slowest growth rate ever. It is only the second time that the rate posted less than 1 percent, the other being when it recorded 0.7 percent in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.

A bigger cause for concern is that Korea’s major manufacturers that have been flexing their muscles globally in industries such as electronics, automobiles, chemicals and shipbuilding are in trouble. According to the central bank, the growth rate of sales by large conglomerates is plunging ― it fell from 13.1 percent in 2011 to 5 percent in 2012, and slid further to 0.3 percent last year.

In fact, a growing number of world-class manufacturing giants are facing an increasingly gloomy outlook, although not on par with Hyundai Heavy Industries.

For instance, Samsung Electronics’ once-explosive growth seems to have already reached its peak. Its sales amounted to 47 trillion won in the third quarter, marking the first time in two years that it went below 50 trillion won.

Its operating profit, which exceeded 10 trillion won to peak in the third quarter of last year, fell to 4.1 trillion won, marking the first time in about three years that it dipped below 5 trillion won.

The protracted slump in domestic consumption and the unfavorable external conditions ― such as the strong won, the weak yen and the grim outlook for the global economy ― are to blame for the lackluster performance of major Korean manufacturers.

The latest developments surrounding the plight of Korean manufacturing should set alarm bells ringing, because the sector accounts for much of the nation’s export-driven economy. That the BOK cut the export growth estimate for this year to 4 percent from 6.1 percent reflects this reality.

The economic policy team led by Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan seems to be obsessed with the short-term goal of reviving the domestic economy. It should put the same focus on the mid-and long-term strategy to improve the global competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.

There ought to be more firms like Samsung Electronics, which overcame its late start in the smartphone war with Apple on the strength of its innovation and ability to adapt swiftly to change.