Hyundai Motor Labor and Management Reach Man-Hour Agreement... Ioniq 5 Mass Production Gains Momentum

Agreement Reached on Number of Workers to Deploy After All-Night Labor-Management Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Hyundai Motor Company’s labor and management have reached an agreement on the number of personnel to be deployed for the production of their first dedicated electric vehicle model, the Ioniq 5. Attention is focused on whether the mass production of the Ioniq 5, which caused a sensation from the pre-orders in the Korean and European markets, will proceed smoothly.

According to Hyundai Motor on the 10th, after an overnight meeting, labor and management reached a Man Hour agreement around 5 a.m. that day. Man Hour refers to the amount of work a worker can perform in one hour.

Since the decision to produce the Ioniq 5 at Ulsan Plant 1, labor and management had shown differences over the Man Hour issue. Due to the nature of electric vehicles, which have about 30% fewer parts compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, a reduction in the workforce involved in production was inevitable. As conflicts continued, some union members even halted the Ioniq 5 test vehicle production line in January.

The agreement reportedly includes provisions such as allocating some of the production history to other production lines following the mass production of the Ioniq 5. A Hyundai Motor official stated, "Although there were differences of opinion since this is the first dedicated electric vehicle, we quickly reached an agreement because more than 35,000 units were pre-ordered domestically alone, and delays could cause significant customer damage."

With the Man Hour issue resolved, Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan Plant 1 is expected to soon begin full-scale mass production, starting with units to be used as test drive vehicles. The Ioniq 5 is the first dedicated electric vehicle that has forecasted success, having sold a record-breaking 23,760 units on the first day of domestic pre-orders. It is also attracting attention in the European market, where the limited sales volume of 3,000 units sold out in just one day.

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