Ssangyong Motor to Finalize Detailed Self-Rescue Plan Next Week... Accelerating Sale Process and New Car Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Ssangyong Motor labor and management, which have prepared a self-rescue plan for corporate rehabilitation, are set to finalize the details of the plan next week, centered on 'up to 2 years of unpaid leave.' Based on this, Ssangyong Motor plans to accelerate the sale process and the launch of new vehicles.

According to industry sources on the 12th, Ssangyong Motor's labor and management have been discussing the details since the union members approved the self-rescue plan vote on the 8th. Ssangyong Motor is expected to finalize the detailed plan by next week and include it in the rehabilitation plan.

The self-rescue plan includes 50% of production workers and 30% of office workers taking unpaid leave for one year, with the possibility of extending the unpaid leave for another year depending on sales conditions. For office management staff, since 30% are subject to leave, a plan to divide them into three groups to alternate one month off and two months working is being strongly considered.

Currently, production workers are divided into day and night shifts, and it is expected that the leave period will be set based on this, with a single shift operation. When the day shift works, the night shift takes leave, and when the night shift works, the day shift takes leave. Because of this, even if half of the production workers enter unpaid leave, it is expected that there will be no disruption such as production stoppage.

Ssangyong Motor produces around 8,000 units per month and plans to operate personnel flexibly by reallocating the relatively low-demand Korando and Tivoli production lines to the Rexton Sports line.

With fixed costs reduced, Ssangyong Motor plans to issue a bidding announcement at the end of this month and officially enter the merger and acquisition (M&A) process. In addition to HAAH Automotive, which was the preferred negotiation partner during the voluntary restructuring, electric vehicle company K-pop Motors, private equity firm Park Seokjeon & Company, and electric bus manufacturer Edison Motors have consistently expressed acquisition intentions.

However, the industry views that since this unpaid leave at Ssangyong Motor is limited to a maximum of 2 years and there is no workforce restructuring, the acquiring company should be one that can immediately generate profitability after acquisition.

Besides the sale process, Ssangyong Motor plans to accelerate preparations for producing its first electric vehicle, the E-Motion (E-100), and the mid-size sports utility vehicle (SUV) J100 (project name) scheduled for release next year. The E-100 was originally planned for release at the end of March this year but was postponed to the end of the first half of this year due to worsening financial conditions. Ssangyong Motor is expected to soon announce its position, including the E-100 launch plan and sales targets, by incorporating them into the rehabilitation plan.

The main creditor bank, the Korea Development Bank, is also expected to soon announce its position on supporting Ssangyong Motor. Chairman Lee Dong-geol of the Korea Development Bank proposed conditions for supporting Ssangyong Motor, including a ban on strikes before profitability and extending the collective agreement from 2 years to 3 years. As the union accepted these, the justification for support has been established.

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