Audi Volkswagen hit by labor disputes

By Kim Jae-won

Lee Yeon-kyung Ex-Audi executive

Audi Volkswagen Korea is embroiled in disputes regarding recent layoffs. In one case, a female Korean executive was fired under very questionable circumstances.

In another, a subcontractor company was ordered to lay off an employee, the Labor Relations Commission (LRC) said Thursday.

The LRC is a consensus-based administrative body composed of tripartite representatives of employees, employers and civic organizations, responsible for mediating and adjudicating labor disputes between labor and management.

According to the LRC, Lee Yeon-kyung, a marketing executive of the local unit of the German automaker, filed a complaint with the LRC in March, claiming the company fired her illegally without a proper reason.

An unidentified employee of a subcontractor of the company also filed a claim with the commission recently, arguing that he was dismissed by his company due to pressure from the automaker.

“We got those complaints related to Audi Volkswagen Korea. Lee’s case was settled, but the subcontractor employee’s case is still ongoing,” said Lee Chang-ho, an official of the commission.

The automaker agreed to settle the case with Lee last month about the same time that the commission launched its investigation into the case according to the LRC official.

Details of the terms of the settlements were not known.

At the same time Audi Volkswagen admitted that it wrongfully fired the employee of the subcontractor but has since declined to reinstate him.

Representatives of the company were not available for comment.

Industry sources say that the two latest cases have put the company’s ability to deal with labor issues here into question. The controversial layoffs have been taken place under the watch of the company’s new managing director Johannes Thammer since he arrived in December.

Audi Volkswagen is one of three leading foreign automakers here, along with Mercedes-Benz and BMW. It supervises sales of three brands of the company ― Audi, Volkswagen and Bentley.