SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - General Motors Korea resumed formal wage negotiations with its labor union on Monday, the first such talks in nearly two months, as disputes over restructuring and persistent speculation about the automaker’s long-term presence in South Korea add to rising tensions.
Talks began at 2 p.m., marking the 14th round of bargaining this year and the first since July 15. In the interim, the two sides had engaged in lower-level discussions without reaching a breakthrough.
The union, which has already secured the legal right to strike, staged partial walkouts from July 10 to 14, and resumed two-hour stoppages on Aug. 19, later escalating them to four hours beginning Aug. 21.
At the center of the standoff is GM Korea’s plan, announced in May, to shut nine company-owned service centers and sell idle land at its Bupyeong plant, a key facility outside Seoul. The union is demanding collective bargaining that includes guarantees for jobs and alternatives to closures.
“The reason the union opposes some of the sales is because GM Korea’s continued restructuring from GM headquarters and the overseas subsidiary plant closure processes follow a worryingly similar pattern,” Ahn Kyu-baek, head of the GM Korea union, said at a Sept. 4 press conference.
Adding to the uncertainty are renewed questions about GM’s commitment to the South Korean market.
Industry officials say GM headquarters recently halted development of the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt, which had been slated for production in 2029 at GM Technical Center Korea. The decision has fueled speculation that the automaker may scale back its footprint in the country.
A GM Korea spokesperson downplayed such concerns, saying that product development road maps are “established as part of global strategy to respond to worldwide market environment changes and customer demand” and that priorities are regularly reviewed.
The spokesperson added that GM’s Korean technical center “plays a crucial role” in the company’s global engineering and design network and would continue to do so.
Still, GM Korea has faced recurring withdrawal rumors as its export-focused business model comes under pressure. The company ships about 90 percent of its vehicles produced in South Korea to the United States, where changes in tariff and trade rules have eroded some of its competitive advantages.
Tensions were further inflamed after it was revealed that Hector Villarreal, GM Korea’s chairman, had urged the government to reconsider the recently passed Yellow Envelope Law, which expands protections for striking workers.
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