Jose Vicent de los Mojos
Regarding Renault Samsung’s recent strike movement, Renault Group said, “If we do not fulfill our promises, we will find a new way.” It is analyzed that the Renault Samsung Busan plant warned that it could withdraw from Korea in the event of a strike.
According to Renault Samsung on the 9th, Jose Vicent de los Mojos (pictured), head of manufacturing and supply at Renault Group (Vice Chairman), said through an in-house video message, “We are going through a difficult time that we have not experienced. If we do not keep our promise to increase our competitiveness, we will find an alternative.” The intention is that production itself can be stopped, including the export volume of’New Arcana (XM3)’, a small crossover utility vehicle (CUV) being produced at the Busan plant.
Vice Chairman Mojos exclaimed, “Believing in our promise to improve productivity, we decided to persuade the top management to produce XM3 Europe at the Busan plant, but as of the end of 2020, that promise was not fulfilled.” According to Renault Group’s self-assessment based on quality (Q), cost (C), time (T) and productivity (P), the Busan plant ranked 10th among 19 Renault production bases worldwide. In terms of the factory manufacturing cost ranking alone, the Busan plant ranked 17th among Renault Group’s 19 factories worldwide.
Renault Samsung’s Busan Plant Production Competitiveness Ranking
The high-wage and high-cost system of the Korean production base also became the target of Renault’s headquarters. Vice Chairman Mojos said, “Compared to Spain, the manufacturing cost of the Busan plant is twice as high. If you add transportation costs, it is not desirable to produce cars in Korea and deliver them to Europe.” He also made it clear that he would not let the strike of production workers at Renault Samsung sit down. Vice Chairman Mojos said, “The Busan plant should ensure that there is no obstacle to European sales through stable production and delivery.” “The Busan plant must produce XM3 and deliver it to Europe at the same level of manufacturing cost as the Spanish plant. This is the responsibility that the Busan plant must comply with.” Recently, the Renault Samsung labor union voted for and against the industrial action and voted in favor of the strike. The strike is possible at any time because the union secured the right to dispute after receiving a decision from the Central Labor Commission to suspend dispute settlement in October last year.
Meanwhile, the Renault Group has launched a restructuring globally called’Renaulution’ and recently reduced 1,300 workers in Brazil. The wages for new employees were also cut by 20%. The period of wage and collective agreements with unions was also changed to 4 years. In Korea, according to the industry-level union system, the period of collective bargaining is fixed at one year.
Reporter Kim Young-min [email protected]