Renault Group Vice Chairman Urges Renault Samsung Motors Labor and Management to Strengthen Competitiveness of Busan Plant

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Jose Vicente de los Mozos, Vice Chairman and Executive Officer in charge of manufacturing and supply at Renault Group, visited the Renault Samsung Motors Busan plant for a 2-day trip, urging managers and the labor union to strengthen competitiveness.

According to the Renault Samsung Motors labor-management on the 25th, Vice Chairman de los Mozos met with managerial staff at the Busan plant on the 24th, and on the afternoon of the 25th, he held talks with labor union executives including Chairman Park Jong-gyu.

At the meeting, de los Mozos reportedly emphasized, "The XM3 (export name Renault New Arkana), produced at the Busan plant and exported to Europe, must succeed, and to secure the volume of the next model, the successful completion of the 'Survival Plan' and securing competitiveness are essential."

The labor union stated, "The fixed costs have increased because there is no production volume at the Busan plant, but when there was volume from 2015 to 2019, the plant was competitive enough to rank first or second within the Renault Group," and demanded, "Please provide models that meet the demands of Korean customers."

Following the voluntary retirement program running until the 26th, Renault Samsung Motors is pushing for single-shift production and rotational leave starting in March, which is becoming a new source of labor-management conflict. To reduce fixed costs, Renault Samsung Motors plans to abolish the night shift and operate only the day shift under single-shift production, and if there is surplus manpower, implement paid rotational leave. The company has requested the labor union to hold a Job Security Committee meeting to discuss this issue.

The labor union expressed dissatisfaction, saying the company is only heightening the sense of crisis through voluntary retirement and other measures. The union proposed to the company to hold the 7th main negotiation session on March 3 and to convene the Job Security Committee the following day, emphasizing that changes to working conditions must be agreed upon with the union.

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