Hyundai Steel received applications for voluntary retirement and transfer placement from employees at its Pohang plant, with approximately 90 employees applying.
According to Hyundai Steel and the Hyundai Steel branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union on the 15th, about 20 employees applied for voluntary retirement among the 1,200 technical workers at the Pohang plant. Approximately 70 employees expressed their desire to be transferred to the thin steel plate plant at the Dangjin Steelworks in Chungnam.
Hyundai Steel explained that due to the global economic slowdown and the low-priced steel offensive from China, it conducted voluntary retirement and transfer placement for employees at the Pohang plant.
The company has effectively suspended operations at Pohang Plant 2, which mainly produced shaped steel products used in construction sites, since the end of last year. The company stated that monthly losses of 8 to 9 billion KRW have been occurring at Pohang Plants 1 and 2, making this measure unavoidable.
On the 14th, Hyundai Steel declared an emergency management system and cut all executives' salaries by 20%. The company plans to implement cost-saving measures such as reviewing voluntary retirement for all employees and minimizing overseas business trips.
A company official said, "Voluntary retirement and transfer placement will proceed according to the procedures."
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