Ssangyong Motor workers strike against job cuts

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, May 21 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea's smallest automaker, launched a full strike Thursday against the company's massive job-cut plan, the union said.

The work stoppage came a day before a bankruptcy court in Seoul was scheduled to
hold its first meeting to discuss a restructuring plan with creditors of
Ssangyong, which has been under bankruptcy protection since February.
"Workers have engaged in talks with management to dissuade them from a layoff,
but they made little headway, with both companies executives and creditors
demanding downsizing," said a union spokesman at the company's only plant in
Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul. He stressed the strike is in accordance with
laws protecting the rights of workers.
He pointed out that 84 percent of Ssangyong's unionized workers agreed to stage a
strike, reflecting their high level of solidarity.
The representatives, however, said the strike may be called off if management and
government agree to listen to the requests of workers.
Ssangyong, the maker of the Rexton sport utility vehicle and the Chairman luxury
sedan, became the nation's first big corporate casualty of the global economic
slump that dampened demand for new cars.
Ssangyong said last month it will cut 2,646 jobs, or 36 percent of its total
workforce, and get 250 billion won (US$200.5 million) in new loans by offering
its sole plant as collateral.
Early this month, the Seoul Central District 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.
In the first three months of this year, Ssangyong posted its sixth straight
quarterly net loss as consumers shunned the potentially bankrupt carmaker's
vehicles.
The company is 51-percent owned by China's top automaker, Shanghai Automotive
Industry Corp., which has balked at providing more support.
Ssangyong posted a net loss of 265 billion won (US$213 million) in the first
quarter, compared with a loss of 34 billion won for the same period last year.
First-quarter sales plunged 66 percent from a year ago to 234 billion won.
A company executive said the strike is very regrettable because it comes on the
eve of the first official meeting of creditors who can decide the fate of the
carmaker.
He emphasized that while Ssangyong will talk to workers to limit the number of
layoffs, the "unlawful" strike could lead to other measures.