Ssangyong Motor closes factory amid labor strike

SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- Ssangyong Motor Co., a South Korean automaker under
bankruptcy protection, said Sunday it has closed its main factory south of Seoul
in response to an ongoing labor strike.
The automaker's labor union launched a full strike Thursday against the company's
massive job-cut plan. Ssangyong, which has been under bankruptcy protection since
February, 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
the main plant in Pyeongtaek as collateral.
In response to the work stoppage, the ailing company said it closed the
Pyeongtaek factory, about 70 km south of Seoul, at 8:30 a.m.
Negotiations underway between the labor union and the management have made little
headway in narrowing differences.
The labor union said its internal poll garnered 84 percent of approval for the
strike.
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.
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.
The company is 51-percent owned by China's top automaker, Shanghai Automotive
Industry Corp., which has balked at providing more support.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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