Senior OB workers to retire for new hires

By Park Jae-hyuk

Oriental Brewery's (OB) management and labor have agreed to implement an early retirement program for older factory workers to make room for the growing number of young jobseekers, Korea's largest brewer said Friday.

According to the company, its management and labor signed this year's wage and collective-bargaining agreement that day, which requires the management raise this year's wage by 5 percent and carry out the early retirement program for those who have worked for OB for over 15 years.

OB introduced the voluntary retirement program in 2016, as its labor union demanded the company do so.

The long-term employees at OB's factory in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, will be able to apply for the program from Sept. 3 to 10.

As OB has yet to finalize the wage and collective-bargaining deal with workers at its brewery in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and with salespeople, those workers cannot apply for the program.

The brewery said it will screen the applicants and choose the retirees who will be paid salaries salaries for 34 months in addition to the severance pay.

OB expects around 30 employees will apply for the retirement program.

It plans to hire new employees as soon as the retirees leave the company, so its move is regarded as an attempt to revitalize the company, not an effort to reduce the payroll.

“We have increased employment, hiring more than 70 new employees this year,” an OB official said. “The recent early retirement program will offer new opportunities to long-term workers and increase the employment of young new workers.”

Earlier this year, OB carried out the voluntary retirement program for non-union workers aged 45 and over.

Back then, it failed to reach an agreement with the union workers, as they wanted the management to provide an excessive amount of severance pay to retirees.

In 2016, OB allowed 150 workers to retire through the two voluntary retirement programs in April and November.