The situation at Ssangyong Motor is reaching a critical point as union members continue their occupation of the troubled automaker’s plant in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, the Korea Herald reported on Thursday.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Union workers began partial strikes in April in protest against the company’s plans to reduce staff by more than 2,500 and, on 22 May, stepped up the strikes and began an illegal occupation of the Pyeongtaek plant, bringing production to a standstill.
Company officials have said the sit-in strike has led to 4,000 vehicles being undelivered and caused lost production output and 82 billion won (US$65m) in lost revenues as at the end of May. The damages are estimated to run as high as 199bn won if the situation goes unresolved this month.
“Marketing has almost stopped due to the shortages caused by the strike. Even the backlog has been depleted,” a Ssangyong official told the newspaper.
During the first eight days of June, only 82 Ssangyong vehicles have been sold in Korea.
The strike has put off plans for the new C200 crossover utility vehicle, which is considered to be an next step in the company’s path to recovery.
The car was originally planned for launch in November, but according to the company’s court receivership manager Lee Yoo-il, it is now unlikely that the target will be met.
Despite deteriorating conditions, the striking workers seem to be preparing for a drawn-out standoff. “The management has not shown any signs of backing down and has not offered any alternatives to the layoffs,” a union official told the Korea Herald. He added that the strike would continue until the company scraps the layoff plans.
“Everyone here has been fired and compliance with the company’s measures is a death sentence for us and our families.”
The company responded that there was no room for negotiation concerning the layoffs as the measure was an essential part of the company’s revival plans.
