By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The government will provide subsidies to companies in Pyeongtaek, the city where the troubled Ssangyong Motor factory is located, until August next year to prevent them from laying off their workers, the Ministry of Labor said Tuesday. It is an emergency measure set up at the request of Pyeongtaek City.
The city, whose economy was hit hard by the months-long operation stoppage of Ssangyong, has claimed that thousands of workers at companies there will face dismissal in the months to come.
Without the subsidies, more than 4,400 workers would be expected to face dismissal in the near future due to worsening business conditions in the wake of the dispute between the union and management of the nation's smallest automaker.
``The situation has improved as the standoff at Ssangyong plant has ended. But the city's future is still dismal,'' a ministry official said.
All companies based in the city, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, will benefit from the program, the official said. The state funds will be granted in exchange for the companies keeping their present workers.
Shin Young-chul, spokesman for the ministry, said, ``We expect the program to revitalize the city's economy.''