By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Workers at Ssangyong Motor have been busy cleaning up the plant for the resumption of production after laid-off workers ended their 77-day occupation of the factory.
The company hopes production will be normalized in two to three weeks, but experts say the automaker has a long way to go to regain its tarnished brand image and completely resolve disputes.
Some 2,200 retained workers entered the plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday morning, a day after union representatives of the dismissed and management agreed on the number of workers to be laid off.
They cleared away barricades that had been set up and checked facilities in the factory buildings.
"The production lines have not been damaged much. We believe a normal operation will be possible in two to three weeks," said CEO Park Young-tae.
The management also decided to submit a self-rescue plan to a court on Sept. 15 for survival, not for bankruptcy. Korea Development Bank, Ssangyong's main creditor, is considering providing about 100 to150 billion won to the company for restructuring.
But the automaker's suppliers are unlikely to supply parts in time, as many of them ceased to operate during the strike - among 430 suppliers, 23 are under court receivership or went bankruptcy, while 101 suspended business operations.
Ssangyong will also have difficulty in developing new models and regaining its brand image - it sold only 268 cars in June and July.
The agreement will see 48 percent of the dismissed workers take unpaid long-term leave. Another conflict might take place in sorting out who will stay and who will have to leave the company.
The labor ministry said it will help laid-off employees find jobs after designating Pyeongtaek as an "employment promotion area next week."
The government can designate a region as the special area, where mass dismissal is expected, to help fired workers. It can provide more job training and more subsidies to companies that hire workers from the region. Pyeongtaek, if designated, will be the first region to be so.
"We will speed up the designation, next week at the earliest. Also, we'll help dismissed workers find new jobs and get the unemployment subsidy as soon as possible," Vice Minister Chung Chong-soo said.
In the meantime, 96 workers, allegedly the masterminds of the violent protests against police, are under investigation. Police will seek arrest warrants for those who masterminded the protests, assaulted police officers, or set fire to plant facilities.
"Those shooting privately made guns can be punished for attempted murder, those setting fire with firebombs for arson, and those beating police officers or company officials can be charged with mob violence," said Cho Hyeon-oh, head of Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency.
Another 362 who had remained in the plant and had not actively participated in the demonstrations will be free from investigation.
It was reported that three to four companies, including two foreign firms, have raised the possibility of taking over Ssangyong. CEO Park told a local daily Friday that an announcement will be made when serious negotiations start.