Around 40,000 Hyundai Motor workers have joined the first full-day strike since 2016, halting production at major South Korean plants as the union pushes for higher pay, a higher retirement age and protection against AI-driven job losses.
Hyundai Motor workers in South Korea staged their first full-day strike in a decade on Friday, bringing production to a halt at the automaker’s major plants as wage negotiations with management remained deadlocked. Around 40,000 union members were expected to join the walkout, marking the company’s first such strike since 2016.
The strike follows a series of partial walkouts since late July that have already disrupted production of around 55,200 vehicles worth more than 2.3 trillion won ($1.67 billion), according to estimates from Yonhap cited by Reuters.
What are Hyundai workers demanding?
The dispute centres on this year’s wage negotiations, but the union’s demands extend well beyond salaries. Workers are seeking higher wages, a 50 per cent increase in bonuses, an extension of the mandatory retirement age and the reinstatement of dismissed union members.
The union has also made job protection against artificial intelligence and automation a key issue. As carmakers increasingly automate manufacturing and adopt AI-driven technologies, workers are seeking greater guarantees that technological changes will not result in job losses.
Why is retirement age such a big issue?
Hyundai’s union wants the mandatory retirement age raised from its current 60 years. The demand comes as South Korea faces one of the world’s fastest-ageing populations and follows President Lee Jae Myung’s pledge to gradually raise the retirement limit.
More from BusinessFor the union, extending the retirement age is part of a broader push for employment and income security. It also reflects the changing demographics of South Korea, where companies are increasingly dealing with an ageing workforce.
The union has argued that Hyundai has the financial strength to accommodate its demands, pointing to the company’s large internal reserves. Management, however, has maintained that it cannot accept demands without sufficient legal or reasonable grounds.
How much has the strike already cost?
The labour dispute has already had a significant production impact. Partial strikes since late July have disrupted output of 55,200 vehicles, with the affected production valued at more than 2.3 trillion won.
Friday’s full-day stoppage affects Hyundai’s major South Korean production facilities, adding further pressure on the automaker to reach a settlement with workers.
The union has also announced additional partial strikes, meaning production could face further disruption if negotiations fail to make progress.
Why the dispute matters for Hyundai
The strike comes at a challenging moment for Hyundai. The automaker said in July that it expected to miss its global sales target this year, with growing competition from Chinese carmakers in Europe and weaker sales in its home market adding to pressure on the business.
A prolonged labour dispute could therefore add another complication for Hyundai through lost production and potential delivery delays.
But the dispute also points to a larger structural challenge facing South Korea’s auto industry. Carmakers are investing heavily in automation, AI and new technologies while workers are demanding that productivity gains translate into better wages and stronger employment protection.
For Hyundai workers, this year’s negotiations are therefore about more than a pay increase. They are also about how long workers can remain employed, how they will be protected as factories become more automated and how the benefits of Hyundai’s financial strength are shared with its workforce.
For Hyundai management, the challenge is to settle the dispute without allowing labour unrest to further disrupt production at a time when the company is already facing intense competition and changing global demand.
