Renault Samsung Busan Plant Withdraws Workplace Closure Starting June 1

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Renault Samsung Motors has decided to withdraw the partial workplace closure imposed in response to the union's full-scale strike starting from the 1st of next month and switch the work system to a two-shift day and night operation.

Renault Samsung Motors announced on the 28th, "We have decided to restore the two-shift day and night work system from June 1st and plan to withdraw the partial workplace closure at the Busan plant to achieve this."

This decision is known to be aimed at securing export volumes of the compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) XM3 (export name Renault New Arkana) to Europe.

The company stated, "Due to COVID-19 and a sharp decline in domestic and export volumes, there was more than 60 days of downtime last year, and from February, semiconductor parts supply issues overlapped, making it inevitable to operate only during the daytime from March 16 and implement rotational leave for surplus personnel. Fortunately, the local response to the Arkana in Europe has been positive, and if we can supply high-quality cars in sufficient quantities at the time customers want, we believe we can achieve success."

However, the union criticized, "The aggressive withdrawal of the workplace closure is only natural, and the unilateral announcement of the two-shift transition is a trick to nullify the strike by deploying contract workers."

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