2,500 GM Korea workers apply for voluntary retirement

GUNSAN, South Korea, March 3 (Yonhap) -- More than 2,000 workers at the South Korean unit of General Motors Co. have applied for voluntary retirement as the U.S.-based carmaker plans to shut down one of its plants here, local and company sources said Saturday.

According to the sources, about 2,500 workers at four GM Korea plants out of a combined workforce of 16,000 employees applied for the program by the Friday deadline.

In particular, about 1,000 out of 1,550 workers at the Gunsan plant joined the list of people willing to leave the company in return for compensation that includes up to three years worth of ordinary wages and other benefits.

Union officials said relatively large number of workers seem to have applied for voluntary retirement for fear that they could be forced to leave without any compensation once the company starts beefed-up corporate restructuring.

In mid-February, the carmaker announced that it would close the Gunsan plant by May and decide the future of the remaining plants within the following weeks due to low productivity.

The decision drew strong outcry from the local community, which depends heavily on GM for employment, and also sparked speculation that GM might leave the South Korean market altogether.

GM Korea requested support from the government, saying it will decide its future course of action based on the level of assistance and cooperation from its labor force, which will have to take hits on wages and benefits.

GM Korea reportedly suffered losses totaling 900 billion won (US$831.4 million) in 2017.
(END)