On 15 February, Ssangyong Motor announced that it had sold a total of 155,844 vehicles at home and abroad in 2016. The sales record is the second-largest since 2002, when the company sold more than 160,000 vehicles. Backed by this strong sales performance, the automaker reported KRW 3.6 trillion (USD 3.2 billion) in total sales revenue.
Starting in 2008 with a sudden rise in the oil price, for 8 consecutive years (until 2015) the automaker went into deficit, partly attributed to conflict between labor and management at SAIC Motor which acquired Ssangyong Motor in 2004.
After Ssangyong Motor applied for corporate restructuring in January 2009, it reduced its workforce by 37% (2,646 employees) in April, with the company’s trade union holding a general strike against the layoffs. The union occupied the factory in Pyeongtaek for 77 days, which led to violent conflict with police.
The conflict between labor and management worsened as politicians sought to make a serious issue out of the conflict, and the brand image of the automaker was seriously damaged. In September 2009, the union elected new leadership unrelated to the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). In November 2010, the Mahindra Group took over Ssangyong Motor. After the takeover, the labor and management of Ssangyong Motor and the Ssangyong branch under the KMWU engaged in lengthy discussions to conclude an ‘Agreement for Normalization of Management’ in December 2015.
Labor and management at Ssangyong Motor were able to resolve the conflict due to the mutual understanding that the only way for the both to survive was if the company survives. Amidst a legal dispute beginning in 2010 in relation to the layoffs, labor and management concluded wage agreements for 7 consecutive years without conflict (2010 to 2016).