ED Selfish autoworkers

Flexible operation is essential during transition period

Hyundai Motor is having a hard time increasing the production of its popular Palisade SUV because of a conflict among its unionized workers within the company. The large sports utility vehicle is gaining popularity both here and abroad, but backorders have piled up due to a supply shortage. However, there is a simple solution to this problem. Hyundai simply has to transfer part of the production of the Staria van from its Ulsan No. 4 Plant to the Jeonju Plant and allocate surplus workers at the Ulsan plant to the Palisade line. However, the nation's largest automaker cannot apply this easy solution because it is being blocked by an internal conflict between the unionized workers.

Hyundai's Jeonju Plant mainly produces commercial vehicles, including large buses. However, it is experiencing problems due to a lack of orders. Autoworkers at the two plants are both Hyundai employees and union members, but there was even a violent incident over a proposed reallocation of work. Outsiders may find this hard to believe.

Hyundai's desperate countermeasure is understandable. The world's fifth-largest automaker saw sales drop more than 22 percent year-on-year in September, mainly due to a shortage of automotive semiconductors. The internal conflict between the unionized workers is like adding insult to injury. These union members must realize that work allocation should be focused on efficiency. Collective selfishness at factories within the same company is hard to understand. The power of the union comes from unity. What's happening at the automaker now explains why industry insiders say, “Hyundai Motor's union is now dead.”

Hyundai managers need to let the union know who is in charge of managerial decisions. Chairman Chung Eui-sun aims to turn Hyundai Motor into a company with a business portfolio of automobiles (50 percent), private aviation vehicles (30 percent), and robotics (20 percent). Resistance to such changes from unions concerned about job losses will be inevitable. Unless management sets up principles now, it could end up facing delays in making key decisions. The company could also study how its foreign competitors deal with similar situations.