[Report] Troubled Ssangyong Motors... Yet the Factory Keeps Running

Employees assembling vehicles at Ssangyong Motor Assembly Plant 1.
Photo by Ssangyong Motor

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[Pyeongtaek=Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] "What we can do on site is to make good quality, good cars. Thinking more about the customers. The company is struggling now, but I hope Ssangyong Motor will become a company that people want to join in the future."

On the 14th, when the weather was chilly and dark clouds hung, unlike the season of spring, the atmosphere at Ssangyong Motor’s Pyeongtaek Plant 1 looked heavy like the weather. Although the internal situation was unsettled due to the upcoming resale process, employees were sweating hard to produce vehicles of good quality.

The areas toured within Pyeongtaek Plant 1 were Body Plant 1 and Assembly Plant 1. Here, Korando, Korando e-Motion, Tivoli, and Tivoli Air are produced on a single production line. Body Plant 1 can assemble 30 vehicles per hour. Most of the processes are automated, so there were not many employees. Large robots were attaching car bodies together and continuing the work. An employee explained that the introduction of adaptive welding has drastically reduced the defect rate. The testing process for the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) ‘J100’ (project name), scheduled for release in June, was also observed. The J100 is a highly anticipated vehicle even within Ssangyong Motor, and an employee described it as the “lifeline.”

We then moved directly to Assembly Plant 1. Unlike Body Plant 1, which is mostly automated, employees were constantly working closely on the vehicles. When the painted car bodies arrive here, engines, seats, steering wheels, tires, and other parts are attached. Only after this entire process is completed does the finished vehicle come out.

Ssangyong Motor is currently going through a difficult period. The merger and acquisition (M&A) with Edison Motors fell through, and the company is undergoing a resale process. In particular, production workers are currently divided into Group A and Group B, each taking one month of unpaid leave. The two-shift daytime work system has also been changed to a single shift. Since June last year, self-help measures such as a one-year no-strike agreement, suspension of welfare benefits, and wage cuts have been implemented. Employees emphasize that they want to be acquired by a good company, receive investment, and continuously produce good cars. A company official said, "It would be good to receive investment to operate normally and make good cars, even if welfare and salaries are paid later."

The labor union also plans to actively cooperate for the company’s revival. In 2009, after Ssangyong Motor’s corporate rehabilitation process, the union withdrew from the Metal Workers’ Union and converted to a company union through a member vote. This reflects a goal to communicate differently from the past and enable both the company and the union to develop. Union Chairman Seon Mok-rae explained, "If a clear blueprint for the future is presented, I will persuade the members to endure the necessary parts," adding, "We will actively cooperate to achieve maximum production and maximum sales."

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