Production at Hyundai Motor plants in South Korea stops. The union called a three-day partial strike, blocking activities for four hours a day until Wednesday. The decision follows the failure of yet another round of contract negotiations between workers’ representatives and the owners. At the center of the protest are not only traditional wage demands, but also the concrete concern for the future of employment linked to the entry of humanoid robots into assembly lines.
The union’s demands
The requests on the table are different. The staff asks an increase in salary base of 149,600 won per month (about 87 euros), a bonus of 800% (about 8 times the monthly salary) and a share equal to 30% of the previous year’s net profit. The requests also include the request to extend the retirement age and the reinstatement of some previously dismissed workers. The distance with the company proposal remains wide: the management offered a raise of 89 thousand won per month, a bonus of 350% plus 10 million won and the assignment of 15 shares of the company.
Shadow of the Atlas Robots
The real innovation that makes the corporate climate incandescent is automation. Hyundai, in fact, has confirmed its intention to introduce Atlas humanoid robots into US factories starting from 2028. Although the company has not yet made similar plans official for the Korean plants, the fear of the union and industry experts is that the adoption of the technology is only a matter of time. Workers are therefore asking for greater certainty about preserving their jobs, fearing that artificial intelligence could make human presence superfluous.
The economic impact
The production stop is already producing tangible effects on the automotive giant’s accounts. The company announced the suspension of activities at the Ulsan plant and other operating locations, estimating a negative impact on sales of 78,767 billion won, equivalent to approximately $52.5 million. Journalistic estimateshowever, are more pessimistic: according to the economic daily Maeil, the overall loss for the company could reach 200 billion won, around 117 million euros, between production, maintenance and sales.