Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co. staged a walkout at a major plant in South Korea due to a disagreement with the company over the expanded production of a new vehicle, the company said Tuesday.

On Friday, union members brought two entire assembly lines at the company's No. 1 plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to a halt after they failed to narrow the gap with management over the issue of increasing the production of the Kona small sport utility vehicle, a company spokesman said over the phone.

"Hyundai and its union have been in talks since last month to reach an agreement on increasing working hours per person to meet rising demand for the Kona SUV in the domestic market and to supply the new SUV in major markets later this year," he said.

After failing to find common ground with the union over the expansion of working hours, the company pushed to produce the Kona crossover on the second assembly line in the No. 1 plant. But the move was immediately blocked by the union, as it rejected the decision.

Under its collective agreement, Hyundai needs to reach an agreement with the union to produce a new vehicle or churn out more cars in its domestic plants.  


"In a letter sent to the union, the company described its unilateral intention without the consent of the union. The union cannot accept such a move," the union's spokesman, Hong Jae-gwan, said.

Hong called on the company to apologize for its unilateral approach to producing the Kona SUV on the second assembly line. The Kona was launched in the local market in June to meet the growing global demand for small recreational vehicles.

He warned that the union may walk out later this year, as Hyundai workers have voted to go on strike if this year's wage negotiations with the company failed to find a middle ground.

Hyundai currently operates seven plants in Korea, including five in the port city of Ulsan. It has also production facilities in the United States, Europe and emerging countries such as China, India and Russia.

The Korean carmaker aims to sell a total of 5.08 million vehicles in 2017, higher than the 4.86 million units sold a year earlier.

But it is widely expected not to achieve its sales target this year due to sharp plunges in sales in China following bilateral political tensions over a US missile defense system. 

In the January-September period, Hyundai's net profit fell 30 percent to 3.259 trillion won ($3 billion) from 4.651 trillion won a year earlier.

Meanwhile, in the wage talks that have yet to be concluded, the union has demanded Hyundai raise workers' basic monthly wages by 154,883 won ($142) and offer a bonus of 30 percent of the company's 2016 full-year net profit of 5.72 trillion won.

Citing an unfriendly business environment, the company had offered to raise basic salaries by 42,879 won per month and to provide bonuses worth 200 percent of basic pay plus 1 million won.

When the offer was rejected by the union, the company suggested bonuses of 250 percent of basic pay plus 1.5 million won in a revised offer.

Hyundai workers staged partial strikes in August that cost the company about 620 billion won in lost production.

Labor strikes have plagued the carmaker for decades. Its workers have walked out every year since 1986 except for in 1994, 2009, 2010 and 2011. (Yonhap)