Kia Motors, union agree to readjust output

SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest
automaker, said Friday its labor union has agreed to readjust production to
weather a sharp slump in vehicle demand.
Like their peers, Kia and its parent Hyundai Motor Co. are reeling from the worst
economic downturn in decades as the U.S. and Europe fall into a recession and
China's economic growth cools.
Hyundai, Kia and other local automakers have already cut their production by
slashing daily work hours and shutting down production lines.
In a statement, Kia said its 28,000-strong union agreed on a "flexible production
system" to overcome the "auto industry crisis."
It did not give details such as how the agreement will affect its output.
Earlier in the year, Kia had planned to sell 1.69 million vehicles worldwide, but
it recently cut that target to 1.6 million amid slumping sales.
Kia's worldwide vehicle sales fell three percent to 133,507 units last month, the
company said earlier.
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