Ssangyong Motor's Pyeongtaek plants gear up for sales rebound

Ssangyong Motor workers assemble parts of the company’s popular Tivoli Air SUV in a production plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Ssangyong Motor

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Ssangyong Motor’s assembly plant in Pyongtaek, south Gyeonggi Province was bustling with workers putting parts together on production line No. 2.

This line originally produced only two models ― the Chairman W sedan and the Korando Turismo sport utility vehicle (SUV). But since the newly launched compact-size Tivoli SUV sold like hot cakes, the automaker decided to use the line for Tivoli production starting January.

Some 100 workers were busy working on the assembly line under a number of cheerful banners that read, “Success with Tivoli,” “Let’s sell one million cars” and “ I love Tivoli.”

The scenery has changed a hundred and eighty degrees from seven years ago where the company fired 2,646 workers and its union carried out an all-or-nothing rally in front of the plant.

Now, the plant is being fueled by a hope that the country’s smallest automaker may remain afloat with increasing sales of the Tivoli SUV.

“We have never been this busy since Ssangyong Motor launched the mid-size Rexton SUV 15 years ago,” said a worker.

“We only worked eight hours per day before the Tivoli was introduced, but we now do three hours of overtime as well as a weekend shift. I have worked here for more than 20 years and never been this happy, despite being busy.”

Due to the Tivoli's success, the company's sales improved last year, recording a 34.2 billion won loss in the first quarter, a 19.9 billion loss in the second and a 3.6 billion loss in the third.

The company's sales jumped 17.5 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter with a profit of 21.8 billion won ($17.7 million). This was the first time in the last two years that the company enjoyed a profit.

In December, board members agreed to rehire those workers who were let go in the wake of the 2009 restructuring efforts. Under the deal, the company will gradually reinstate all fired workers and drop a damages suit against them.

So far, dozens of fired workers have returned to the job. The company also hired 16 offspring of fired workers.

The company’s managing director Song Seung-gi said the company will continue striving to “achieve a sales target of 160,000 cars at home and abroad.”