Renault Samsung at 'critical point' amid industry crisis, CEO says

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- The chief executive of Renault Samsung Motors Corp.
called on dealers and employees Friday to boost sales amid sinking demand for
cars, saying the company is at a "critical point."

Renault Samsung, the South Korean unit of France's Renault SA, has been hit hard
by the ongoing global economic crisis which has significantly dampened vehicle
sales, forcing the company to idle its only assembly line in the southeastern
port city of Busan for two weeks last month.
"We are now at a critical point," said Jean-Marie Hurtiger, chief executive of
Renault Samsung, at a meeting with employers and dealers.
"If we successfully overcome the difficulties at this point, Renault Samsung
Motors will have an opportunity to make a new takeoff," Hurtiger said.
Last month, Renault Samsung saw its vehicle sales plunge 17.5 percent from a year
earlier to 15,581 units.
Renault Samsung is particularly vulnerable to sagging domestic consumption
because it sells most of its vehicles in South Korea.
The South Korean auto industry is reeling from the global economic crisis.
Ssangyong Motor Co., the nation's smallest carmaker, applied for a court
receivership last week to avoid bankruptcy amid a worsening liquidity crisis.
News reports have said Renault Samsung plans to cut jobs through an early
retirement program as part of the French parent company's efforts to reduce
costs.
Renault Samsung officials indicated some 600 senior office workers opted to take
the early retirement program, according to the reports.
Renault Samsung, South Korea's second-smallest automaker, was created in 2000
after the French automaker acquired a controlling 80.1 percent stake in the
bankrupt Samsung Motor from Samsung Group, the nation's biggest industrial
conglomerate.
Renault Samsung employs about 7,600 workers in South Korea.
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