[Exclusive] Hyundai Motor to Hire 500 More for 'Kingsanjik' Next Year

Hyundai Motor to Expand Production Worker Hiring Next Year
Increasing by 500 More from Initial Plan of 300
16,000 Hyundai Retirees Over Next 7 Years
Boosting Youth Employment for Mid- to Long-Term Workforce 확보

Hyundai Motor Company will increase its production worker recruitment by at least 500 additional hires next year. Adding 500 to the previously agreed 300 means the scale of new hires next year is expected to be at least 800. Since the number of retirees reaching retirement age will reach 2,000 annually by 2030, it is interpreted that the company is increasing youth employment to secure mid- to long-term manpower amid significant workforce losses.

Production workers are assembling and inspecting the Ioniq 5 at Hyundai Motor Company's Ulsan plant.
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Company]

According to comprehensive reporting on the 21st, Hyundai Motor included in its first collective bargaining proposal for 2024 a plan to increase new hires by 500 next year. Initially, the company planned to hire 300 next year but has raised the figure to 800. The labor union first requested new recruitment, and the company responded. The hiring schedule is reportedly planned as 300 in the first half and 500 in the second half of the year.

In previous collective bargaining, Hyundai Motor and the labor union agreed on new hires of 400 last year and 800 this year and have been proceeding with recruitment accordingly. If the union accepts the company’s proposal to hire 800 next year, Hyundai Motor will hire 2,000 new employees over three years from 2023 to 2025.

The reason Hyundai Motor proposed an increased hiring scale in this negotiation is due to the rapid changes in the company’s workforce structure. From this year until 2030, the number of production workers retiring at the company will reach about 16,000. With more than 2,000 employees leaving annually over the next seven years, new workers who can adapt to and work at domestic new plants are needed.

Hyundai Motor is building a new electric vehicle plant in Ulsan, aiming for completion in 2025 and operation in the first quarter of 2026. The Ulsan electric vehicle-only plant is Hyundai Motor’s first new domestic plant in 29 years since the establishment of the Asan plant in 1996. Hyundai plans to mass-produce 200,000 electric vehicles annually at this plant. Within the Ulsan plant, a factory applying the new manufacturing method called ‘Hyper Casting’ will also be constructed. Labor and management are actively discussing workforce transition and redeployment ahead of full-scale operation in 2026.

Last year, Hyundai Motor attracted attention for production worker recruitment for the first time in 10 years. The competition was fierce due to various welfare benefits such as an average annual salary exceeding 100 million KRW, guaranteed retirement at age 60, and a 30% discount on new car purchases.

This expansion of production worker recruitment also aligns with the company’s social responsibility. Earlier, Hyundai Motor Group announced a blueprint to employ 80,000 people domestically over three years from this year to 2026. Of the 80,000, 44,000 will be newly hired to promote new businesses. Among new business areas such as electrification, software-defined vehicles (SDV), and carbon neutrality realization, the field most urgently needing manpower is electrification. Hyundai Motor Group has emphasized the need for additional personnel for electric vehicle production, including the development of innovative electric vehicle manufacturing technologies and the construction of electric vehicle-dedicated plants.

A company official said, "We proposed additional recruitment to ensure a virtuous cycle of manpower at domestic plants and smooth technology transfer for highly skilled processes." A labor union representative also responded, "We are reviewing the company’s proposal and expect the hiring scale to be at least 800 next year."