Genesis New Car Production Line Halts... What Sparked the Labor-Management Clash?

[Anchor]

The Genesis production line at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant suddenly ground to a halt today (Nov. 2). A conflict has erupted between labor and management over new car production issues, dealing another blow to Hyundai Motor, which has seen its sales decline for 13 months straight.

Reporter An Huijae has the details.

[Reporter]

The Genesis production line at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant came to a halt at around 9:00 AM today.

Management attempted to conduct a test run for a new model, but the labor union blocked the move.

The core issue is workforce reduction.

Mass production of vehicles such as the G80 Hybrid is scheduled for next month. While the number of workers to be deployed on the new production line has traditionally been decided through labor-management consultations, it is reported that an agreement was not reached this time.

The union expresses concern that management might drastically cut headcount and reduce wages under the guise of streamlining the production process.

On the other hand, management maintains that halting the production line without securing the right to strike constitutes an illegal act.

Hyundai Motor's sales have been on a downward trend for 13 consecutive months through last month.

[Lee Seung-jo / Executive Vice President, Hyundai Motor: Due to production disruptions at domestic plants extending from the second quarter to the third quarter, not only have domestic sales decreased, but shipment volumes for export to major markets have also declined....]

Global production last month also fell by 6.3% compared to the same period last year, and the new car effect for core models such as the Avante and Tucson has yet to materialize.

As the aftershocks of last summer's first full-scale strike in 10 years continue to linger, the bad news of a halted new car production line has now been added to the mix.

(Video Editing: So Ji-hye, Design: Jang Sung-beom, Footage provided by: Hyundai Motor)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.