[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Labor-management conflicts over restructuring are intensifying at the Millennium Hilton Seoul Hotel.
On the 14th, the Millennium Hilton Seoul Labor Union held a press conference in front of the Millennium Hilton Seoul Hotel, condemning the parent company CDL Korea Hotel Co., Ltd. and General Manager Felix Busch, stating, "Years of thorough management failure are being exploited as restructuring during the COVID-19 disaster period."
The union claimed, "All employees have participated in normalizing management through shared sacrifices such as using annual leave, unpaid leave, paid leave, salary deferrals, and family care leave to overcome the COVID-19 disaster," adding, "Even at this point, two-thirds of the employees remain in a paid suspension status."
The union particularly harshly criticized the management failure of the parent company, CDL Co., Ltd.
The union emphasized, "The deterioration of Hilton Hotel's management is not due to COVID-19 or labor costs as the company claims, but due to thorough management failure," and added, "For nearly 40 years, the hotel has not made any investments and has relied solely on skilled workers, resulting in incompetent and irresponsible management that has recorded losses for five consecutive years, which is unprecedented in the same industry."
They further stated, "It cannot be denied that various fees and interest costs exploited by CDL and the intermediate holding company are also one of the causes of the management deficit."
Condemnation was also directed at General Manager Felix Busch. The union said, "As wage workers, we even proposed the difficult shared sacrifice of 'wage freeze,' but General Manager Felix Busch rejected all proposals and consistently took an irresponsible stance, saying nothing will be done unless workforce reductions are prioritized," adding, "He only threatens to finalize workforce reductions in July and enforce them in September."
The union demanded the following from management: ▲ Immediate halt to restructuring by General Manager Felix Busch, who is exploiting inevitable management deficits caused by decades of no investment through workforce reductions ▲ Defer payment of 45 billion KRW interest on loans borrowed by CDL Co., Ltd. and immediately convert the entire loan amount into investment funds ▲ Withdraw restructuring plans and present a comprehensive employment guarantee plan.
A representative of the Millennium Hilton Seoul Hotel stated, "It is regrettable that details have been leaked externally while labor-management negotiations are ongoing," and added, "Specific matters such as restructuring cannot be disclosed."
Meanwhile, earlier, multinational hotel company Hilton Worldwide decided to reduce its global workforce by 22%. This decision was due to decreased travelers and worsened profits amid the spread of COVID-19. They plan to cut 2,100 employees worldwide (22%) and implement salary cuts, reduced working hours, and unpaid leave measures.
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