르노삼성자동차가 오늘(11일)부터 신형 닛산 로그를 부산공장에서 생산한다. 하지만 최근 임금협상 실패로 노조가 파업강행 의지를 보이면서 향후 생산차질이 불가피할 것으로 보인다.
르노-닛산 얼라이언스는 지난해 한국내 추가 투자를 약속하며 북미수출용 닛산 로그를 르노삼성의 부산공장에서 생산하겠다고 발표한 바 있다.
초기 생산량은 연간 8만대로 이는 6천억원어치의 차량판매 효과가 있다고 회사는 밝히기도 했다.
하지만 노조가 파업 수순을 걸으면서 모처럼 얻은 투자기회가 수포로 돌아갈 위기에 놓였다.
회사 관계자는 “이미 닛산이 일본내 공장을 물량감소로 놀리고 있는 상황”이라며 “한국생산상황이 나아지지 않는다면 이들로서는 한국에서 생산한 이유가 없을 것”이라고 말했다.
회사는에 따르면 이미 지난주 16시간 부분파업으로 800대의 생산차질이 발생했고 손해액은 129억원에 달한다. 이번주 추가 부분파업이 진행된다면 추가로 천여대의 생산차질과 200억원의 손해가 발생할 것으로 예측했다.
현재 르노삼성노조는 임금인상은 물론 올해 초 승진에서 누락된 과장급 공장노동자 90여명에 대한 즉각 승진을 협상 조건으로 내걸고 있다.
하지만 사측은 경영어려움을 호소하며 인사와 경영권 등은 회사의 고유 권리로 노조와의 협상 대상이 아니라며 이를 거부하고 있다.
(코리아헤럴드 이지윤기자/jylee@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 영문 기사>
Nissan Rogue production hit hard by strikes in Busan
The Korean production of the Nissan Rogue at Renault Samsung Motors’ Busan plant is expected to be hit hard by the labor union’s partial strikes that started last week.
“Even now Nissan is idling some Japanese plants. If the Korean situation gets worse, there would be no reason for the carmaker to continue to make cars in Korea,” said a Renault Samsung official on condition of anonymity.
According to the Korean unit of the French auto giant Renault Group, the carmaker started rolling out the Rogue crossover at its production plant in Busan Monday.
Under a new deal between strategic partners Renault and Nissan, the Korean carmaker will be producing some 80,000 Rogue vehicles per year for export to the North American market.
The deal, the company said, would bring 600 billion won ($580 million) worth of sales for auto suppliers in Busan.
But the much-awaited Rogue production is now expected to face a setback as unionized workers are threatening to extend their partial strikes following a combined 16-hour walkout last week.
“If the management doesn’t accept our proposal, there will be no more talks,” the union said Monday in a statement, hinting at staging a general strike depending on the ongoing talks.
Along with wage hikes, the Renault Samsung union is demanding promotion of some manager-level factory workers as a prerequisite for face-to-face negotiations.
But the management has refused the union’s proposal, saying the company had decided to suspend promotions earlier this year due to a possible increase in costs and tepid company performance.
“The union is asking to discuss personnel changes with them,” said the company official. “But that is for the management to decide, and not with the union.”
Amid the escalating tension between the union and management, the carmaker already suffered production losses of some 800 vehicles worth 17 billion won last week.
If workers go on strike as they pledged this week, another production cut of 1,000 vehicles worth 20 billion won would be unavoidable, the company predicted.
The strike threat is also expected to adversely affect Renault Samsung’s recent sales momentum following years of sluggish sales.
Largely driven by two new models -- the QM3 crossover and the diesel-powered SM5 sedan -- its car sales soared 22.6 percent to 12,367 vehicles in July from a year ago.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
