April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Renault Samsung Motors plans to hire 120 new employees in the second half of this year, the automaker said on June 5. 

In total, the local unit of France’s Renault Group will add 200 staff this year, including 79 new employees recruited earlier this year. The new employees will be spread between administrative, manufacturing and R&D jobs and make up about 4.7 percent of total workers at Renault Samsung -- which stands at about 4,240. 

Renault Samsung Motors CEO Park Dong-hoon (right) shakes hands with new hires.

Renault Samsung was not able to afford new hires since 2012 when it was hit by drastic sales decline. The automaker halted recruitment from 2012 to 2014. It even had to dismiss 800 workers -- which made up 15 percent of the entire workforce at the time -- in 2012. 

In 2015, it added 22 workers when sales began to pick up. Last year, the automaker welcomed 100 new workers, fueled by the popularity of SM6 sedan and QM6 SUV. 

The automaker is also looking to hire more female workers. It plans to reserve 30 percent of all new posts for women, in light of the new Moon Jae-in administration’s employment policy.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)