Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant Applies to Ministry of Employment for Special Extended Work Approval

Q4 Semiconductor Outlook Improvement Expected... Aiming to Resolve Popular Car Model Delivery Delays

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Hyundai Motor Company's Ulsan plant applied for special extended work hours approval to the Ulsan branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 2nd.

Special extended work hours is a system that allows workers to work beyond the 52-hour weekly limit with the consent of the workers and approval from the Minister of Employment and Labor in cases of special circumstances such as emergency situation management or a surge in workload.

With semiconductor supply conditions expected to somewhat improve in the fourth quarter of this year, the intention is to maximize production volume.

Hyundai Motor's production performance from January to September this year was at 92% of the production target due to the global semiconductor parts supply disruption that began at the end of last year.

As production has not kept up with orders, some popular models such as the Santa Fe Hybrid and Tucson are experiencing delivery times exceeding 9 months from contract to shipment.

Hyundai Motor is also considering the situation of partner companies facing operational difficulties due to decreased operating rates and sales caused by the semiconductor supply shortage.

The labor and management at Hyundai Motor believe that a virtuous cycle structure such as 'increased demand - increased finished car production - increased partner company production - improved partner company liquidity' is necessary to overcome this situation.

A Hyundai Motor official said, "Until last month, the semiconductor supply shortage for vehicles in Southeast Asian regions such as Malaysia was severe, but the situation is gradually improving due to the slowdown in the spread of COVID-19," adding, "If semiconductor supply normalizes, we expect to minimize order backlogs and partner company management difficulties through maximum production."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor expanded the special extended work hours period from 90 days to 150 days annually starting from the 26th of last month.

The period expansion applies only to companies applying within this year.

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