Kia Labor and Management Agree on New Hiring
Decide on Hiring Scale for First Half of the Year
[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Woo Soo-yeon] Kia labor and management have agreed to hire production workers this year. Following the recruitment of about 100 production workers for factory jobs last year, they decided to increase the workforce further this year. This comes as Hyundai Motor labor and management have launched large-scale new hiring for the first time in 10 years, drawing heightened interest among job seekers.
According to a comprehensive report from our coverage on the 9th, Kia labor and management reached an agreement on new hires with the above details the previous day. The specific scale and timing of recruitment will be discussed and finalized within the labor-management consultative body (Future Change TFT) by the first half of the year. The labor and management agreed, "To strengthen competitiveness in the future automotive industry, we will confirm the personnel requirements and mid-to-long-term future business transition by the first half of the year and proceed with the hiring process thereafter."
Regular full-time jobs at completed vehicle factories are considered highly desirable workplaces not only among young job seekers but also among existing workers. This is because the annual salary is high and the jobs are stable. Hyundai Motor Group’s completed vehicle affiliates, Hyundai Motor and Kia, are the largest completed vehicle manufacturers in Korea and the third largest in the world.
Future cars such as electric vehicles have fewer parts than conventional internal combustion engines, reducing the number of employees the company needs. This has been the background for the company’s reluctance to hire new workers. They have managed personnel considering the natural decrease due to retirements. As this situation has persisted for several years, labor unions at Hyundai Motor and Kia have been urging the companies to "replenish new personnel."
It is expected that the number of new hires will be determined considering changes in the future automotive industry. Along with the shift to electrification, the manufacturing process has changed, and automation and new techniques have altered the overall labor demand in the final assembly process of completed vehicles compared to the past. However, based on Hyundai Motor’s hiring number this year (700 people), it is expected to be around 300.
Kia labor and management also agreed on special hiring for in-house subcontractors. This is a follow-up measure after the Supreme Court’s decision in October last year to directly employ in-house subcontracted workers as regular employees. They will improve processes and additionally hire personnel who were previously excluded. The in-house subcontractor hiring will be done within the first quarter of this year. The target will be in the production subcontracting field, and the scale will be decided considering the processes.
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