Ssangyong Motor workers vow 'do-or-die battle' against job cuts

(ATTN: UPDATES with Ssangyong Motor seeking permission to lay off 2,400 workers,
quote in paras 7-9)
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at financially troubled Ssangyong
Motor Co. said Friday they would wage a "do-or-die battle" to thwart the
company's massive job-cut plan.

Ssangyong, the smallest automaker in South Korea, has been under bankruptcy
protection since February, becoming the nation's first big corporate casualty as
the global economic slump damped demand for new cars.
To stay alive, Ssangyong said it will cut 2,646 jobs, or 36 percent of its total
workforce, and get 250 billion won (US$199 million) in new loans by offering its
sole plant as collateral.
On Wednesday, a local bankruptcy court said Ssangyong is worth saving, rather
than liquidating, but warned it could still liquidate the ailing carmaker if it
fails to make the job cuts as promised.
"As the management and the government follow through the restructuring plans,
only a do-or-die battle is in our hands," said Han Sang-kyun, leader of the
Ssangyong Motor union.
"It was confirmed that they want a fight. So, our answer is to fight. Let's
prepare for all-out, bitter battles," Han said.
Ssangyong said it has sought permission from local labor authorities on Friday to
slash 2,400 workers. About 240 workers have already applied for voluntary
retirement, the company said.
Under the South Korean labor laws, an employer must get government approval for a
layoff 30 days before it finally fires employees.
"For a survival of Ssangyong Motor, restructuring is the prerequisite condition,"
said Lee Yoo-il, a court-appointed manager at the carmaker.
Any full-scale strike by Ssangyong Motor workers would complicate the company's
efforts for survival.
This month, thousands of unionized workers at Ssangyong staged a partial strike
twice.
On May 22, the Seoul Central District Court will hold its first meeting with
creditors and shareholders of Ssangyong to discuss the company's restructuring
plan.
A court official said, "Rescue proceedings will be scrapped if conditions for
restructuring and new loans aren't met."
Ssangyong was abandoned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) in January
after the Chinese parent refused to make any major effort to save its affiliate.
Ssangyong, which has an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles, posted a
net loss of 709.7 billion won in 2008 on sales of 2.5 trillion won, down 20
percent from a year earlier.
In the first four months of this year, Ssangyong's vehicle sales dived 72 percent
to 9,935 units.
With the bankruptcy protection, SAIC, which still owns a 51-percent stake in
Ssangyong, relinquished its control of the South Korean carmaker.
(END)