"200,000 Internal Combustion Engine Workers Face Job Loss Crisis"…Support Committee Launched

Launch of the Automotive Industry Human Resources Development Committee (ISC) on the 26th
Fair Labor Transition Support Including Job Conversion and Retraining
No Annual Targets Set for Number and Rate of Job Changes

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has launched an administrative support committee as it anticipates that around 200,000 internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle workers will face restructuring due to the low-carbon and digital industrial transformation. While planning to conduct a demand survey to support job transitions, it did not specify the target number or rate of job transitions.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it held the launch ceremony of the Automotive Industry Human Resources Development Committee (Automotive ISC) at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute on the 26th, together with the Human Resources Development Service of Korea and the Korea Automotive Technology Institute. According to the institute, about 200,000 workers in the ICE parts and maintenance industries are at risk of unemployment. It is expected that 108,000 workers (4,185 companies) in ICE parts companies such as engines and powertrains will be directly affected by the industrial restructuring focused on future vehicles like electric and hydrogen cars. Meanwhile, 96,000 workers (36,247 companies) in the maintenance sector, including engine oil and filters, are expected to face difficulties in maintaining employment.

The problem is that the demand and current status by job category have not yet been properly identified. Accordingly, the Automotive ISC plans to analyze the demand for future vehicle workforce training desired by the field and the job transition needs of ICE workers to establish training standards. It will also make every effort to build a support system for incumbent workers’ job conversion and retraining, as well as employment retention in the automotive parts and maintenance sectors.

The Automotive ISC secretariat will be established within the institute, staffed with 10 personnel including a secretary-general. In the future, five associations and cooperatives such as the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Industry Cooperative, seven companies including Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Mobis, and five future vehicle-related companies and research institutes are expected to join sequentially. Currently, the Automotive ISC is recruiting additional members, organizing the secretariat, and preparing an annual plan. It plans to conduct surveys, analyses, and utilization of workforce status and strategic areas, publish regular reports, connect jobs, develop and improve the National Competency Standards (NCS), and discover other projects and policy proposals.

At the launch ceremony, Park Hwajin, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, said, "We expect the Automotive ISC to play a central role in ushering in the future vehicle era by resolving urgent workforce supply and demand issues, fostering future vehicle talent with new technologies, and supporting employment retention and reemployment of ICE workers."