Renault Samsung has cut a shift at its vehicle assembly plant in Busan, South Korea, following a series of strikes by its unionised workers over wages and benefits.
Strike action has taken place over the last 12 days in protest at the company's proposal to freeze wages in 2019 due to weak sales.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The company has also offered its workers voluntary retirement for the first time since 2012 but only a few dozen took up the offer.
Renault-Samsung said union action so far has cost it about 6,000 vehicles in lost production, worth around KRW11bn (US$95m), prompting the French-owned automaker to cut the evening shift which normally starts at 3.45pm.
A company spokesman said around 70% of the factory's 1,700 workers had not joined the walk outs, meaning it could comfortably maintain the main daytime shift.
With its global sales having declined by 21% to 178,698 units last year, cutting a shift will help the company reduce operating costs.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataRenault-Samsung said this was the second time it had to partially close the plant after a similar decision was made in May 2018 during previous wage negotiations with its labour union.
One of the main reasons for its weak global sales is the ending of the Rogue SUV export contract with Nissan Motor which accounted for 60,000 vehicles last year and 100,000 units in 2018.
Renault-Samsung said it was in talks with parent company Nissan to export the XM3 compact SUV to Europe to help offset the loss.
