Kia Reaches Tentative Agreement on Wage Negotiations... Revises Employment Succession Clause

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Kia labor and management parties announced on the 17th that they reached a tentative agreement on this year's wage negotiations without any disputes for the third consecutive year during the 16th main negotiation session held at Autoland Gwangmyeong.

They explained that a consensus was formed between labor and management regarding uncertain future conditions such as international instability in the Middle East and Ukraine, the ongoing high-interest rate trend, intensified trade barriers between countries like the IRA, and a significant reduction in backlog compared to the COVID-19 period, leading to the agreement.

First, labor and management agreed to revise the clause prioritizing the hiring of children of long-term employees, which had been socially criticized as "employment inheritance," and decided to hire 300 new employees to alleviate youth unemployment.

Measures to secure future competitiveness were also established. Labor and management agreed to mutually cooperate for the successful construction and mass production of the new plant currently underway. The agreement also included commitments to jointly expand domestic investment in new businesses and core parts for future vehicles, secure domestic production volumes, and stabilize employment amid the transition to future businesses.

The wage and performance incentive package includes a basic salary increase of 111,000 KRW (including step increases), a management performance bonus of 300% plus 8 million KRW, a production and sales target achievement incentive of 100%, a special incentive of 2.5 million KRW, traditional market gift certificates worth 250,000 KRW to revitalize the local economy, and the provision of 34 shares of no-dispute free stock.

A Kia official stated, "In a situation where uncertainty in the automotive industry is rising and competition among global companies around future vehicles is intensifying, labor and management were able to reach an agreement by sharing a broad consensus on future development and employment stability. Based on this agreement, we will do our best to achieve management goals and secure future competitiveness."

Meanwhile, the union members' vote on the tentative agreement is scheduled to take place on the 20th.

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