April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] SsangYong Motor said on April 24 said that it expects production of its Rexton Sports, G4 Rexton and Korando Sports vehicles to rise by 10,000 units a year with the new shift system it has implemented.

“We’ve changed our working schedule for the first time,” Managing Director Song Seung-ki told reporters at SsangYong Motor’s factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

 

Plant production manager Song Seung-gi

The change was mainly designed to meet the high demand for Rexton Sports model, which was launched in January this year. “Just over four months since its launch, we received around 20,000 orders for Rexton Sports,” Song said. “Customers currently have to wait around three months to receive the vehicle.”

The company added that SsangYong Motor and its labor union have been considering shift changes since 2010, and that the latest adjustments were designed to minimize complaints.

There are three different production lines at the Pyeongtaek factory. The changes were made to lines 1 and 3, while retaining the single shift schedule for line 2 since the demand for Korando Turismo model produced at this line is not high.

For production line 1, which produced 80, 786 units of Korando C, Tivoli and Tivoli Air models last year, the firm made some adjustments to the old double-shift schedule. Its day shift which started from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. is now 7 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. and its night shift which started from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. is now 3:40 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The company expects that this change will make workers rest better at night and boost their productivity.

Employees at production line 3, which produces G4 Rexton, Rexton Sports and Korando Sports, used to work a single shift before April. The workers now also work as the same new double-shift schedule with line 1 to increase production of Rexton Sports model.

Concerning some worries that the changed shift system might increase the workload, the SsangYong Motor factory workers denied any such concerns.

“Since I currently work for the busiest line in this factory, I used to work around 100 hours of overtime a month,” Cho Byeong-ho, an employee who has been working for SsangYong Motor since 1985 said. “We welcome the changes.”

Another worker Kyung Eui-suk at the plant said he now has more time to spend with his family.

The workers, however, did say their wages would decline under the new schedules. ”I did not receive my monthly payment for this month yet but I expect a decrease,” Cho said. He added that the difference wouldn’t be too big since the labor union and SsangYoung Motor agreed not to make drastic changes.

SsangYong Motor announced on April 20 its net loss deepened to 34.24 billion won (US$320 million) in the first quarter this year, although its sales increased to 808.8 billion won. A spokesperson said that the company is hoping to improve its financial condition with Rexton Sports model.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)