Ssangyong Motor workers vote for strike against job cuts

SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- The labor union of troubled Ssangyong Motor Co. said
Tuesday its members had overwhelmingly approved a proposed strike against massive
layoffs announced by the automaker as part of its restructuring efforts.
The Ssangyong union said 86.1 percent of 5,025 unionized workers supported the
strike call. A walkout would complicate Ssangyong's bid to turn itself around.
"As the strike action was endorsed, we will thwart the restructuring plan by all
means," said a union official.
The union will hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce details of the
strike, the official said.
Ssangyong, under bankruptcy protection and 51-percent owned by China's top
automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), said last week it would
slash 2,646 jobs, or 37 percent of its total workforce, to ensure creditors of
its viability.
The Ssangyong union, with a membership of some 5,100 workers out of the company's
7,100-strong workforce, has accused SAIC of stealing technology and abandoning
the company as the market turned sour.
Ssangyong became the first big corporate casualty in South Korea as the global
economic crisis dampened demand for its vehicles.
The beleaguered automaker suffered a net loss of 709.7 billion won (US$534.7
million) in 2008 on sales of 2.5 trillion won, down 20 percent from a year
earlier.
In the first three months of this year, Ssangyong's vehicle sales nosedived 76
percent to 6,471 units. The company has a production capacity of 220,000 vehicles
a year.
On May 22, a bankruptcy judge from the Seoul Central District Court will meet
with Ssanyong's creditors and debt holders to decide on the viability of the
automaker. If the company's turnaround plan is deemed inviable, it will be
liquidated.
(END)