Naju City Discusses Employment Stability Measures for Contract Workers at Namyang Dairy Products Co., Ltd.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Han-hyuk] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Kang In-gyu) announced on the 22nd that it recently held a meeting with the factory of Namyang Dairy Products Co., Ltd. to discuss employment stability measures for 34 contract workers facing job loss at the factory.

Mayor Kang In-gyu met with Seo Ho-soo, the head of Namyang Dairy Products Naju Factory, on the 20th and requested the establishment of a new production line to replace the coffee mix production line scheduled to be relocated to another region, as well as measures to ensure continuous employment for the workers.

The city plans to provide multifaceted support, including enhancing employment capabilities in connection with the Job Support Center, if continuous employment for the affected workers proves difficult.

Mayor Kang said, “We will continue to negotiate with the factory to extend employment for young workers by establishing production lines for other products. If continuous employment is not feasible, we will actively support job placement at local companies linked with the Job Support Center and operate employment capability enhancement programs.”

Namyang Dairy Products stated, “If continuous employment is not possible due to contract expiration, we will consider prioritizing employment during new hiring. Our consistent position is to promote coexistence among the local community, workers, and the company.”

Namyang Dairy Products Naju Factory plans to discontinue employment of 34 contract workers upon expiration of their contracts due to the relocation of the coffee mix production equipment.

Regarding this, a Namyang Dairy Products official stated, “Due to a shift to deficit management last year and worsening profitability caused by increased production costs of coffee mix at the factory, we decided to relocate the coffee mix production line to another region. Employment extension for the 34 workers whose contracts are expiring is uncertain.”

Meanwhile, some local media have raised allegations of preferential treatment regarding investment subsidies from local governments to Namyang Dairy Products in connection with the contract termination decision for the 34 contract workers at the factory, demanding accountability and explanations from both the local government and the factory.

In response, a city official said, “The economic inducement effect from hiring local talent at Namyang Dairy Products Naju Factory has been greater than the amount of local government investment. Claims that the city’s investment attraction gave preferential treatment to Namyang Dairy Products are not true.”

Jeollanam-do Province and the city provided a total of 3.163 billion KRW (628 million KRW from the province, 2.535 billion KRW from the city) in investment subsidies to Namyang Dairy Products Naju Factory by 2015, according to investment attraction ordinances and agreements signed with Namyang Dairy Products in 2004 and 2011.

Detailed support includes ▲ 383 million KRW for infrastructure support such as sewage and wastewater pipelines (2006?2008) ▲ 580 million KRW in employment subsidies (2010, 2012, 2013) ▲ 2.2 billion KRW in facility subsidies (2009, 2015 factory expansion), among others.

The budget Namyang Dairy Products invested in factory construction and expansion amounts to 199.8 billion KRW.

Since starting operations in June 2008, Namyang Dairy Products has contributed to job creation for local residents and increased local tax revenues.

In particular, among the approximately 300 total workers at Namyang Dairy Products Naju Factory, about 200 are local workers, generating a direct income inducement effect of 7.2 billion KRW annually (200 workers × 36 million KRW in wages).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.