Rising labor costs and production disruptions are becoming another challenge for global automakers as they pour billions of dollars into electric vehicles and software, with Hyundai Motor workers preparing for their first full-day strike in a decade. For U.S. automakers and investors, the dispute highlights the labor and cost pressures facing car makers as they compete for market share while funding a costly technology transition.
Hyundai Motor’s union said it will stage an eight-hour full strike on Aug. 21 after the company and labor representatives failed to reach a wage agreement. The walkout follows multiple partial strikes and could disrupt production at an automaker whose vehicles are sold extensively in the U.S. market.
The union and management resumed their 16th round of negotiations on Aug. 18, 41 days after their previous meeting on July 8. The talks ended without an agreement.
The union plans five days of additional walkouts starting Aug. 19. Workers will strike for four hours on Aug. 19 and Aug. 20, followed by an eight-hour full strike on Aug. 21. Four-hour strikes are also planned for Aug. 24 and Aug. 25.
The action would mark Hyundai Motor’s first full strike since 2016.
Union officials plan to participate in the full-day strike on Aug. 21 and travel to the company’s headquarters in Seoul to step up pressure on management.
The dispute centers on higher bonuses, the reinstatement of workers dismissed for illegal activities during previous union campaigns and an extension of the retirement age.
Management says the three issues are outside the scope of this year’s wage negotiations. It has also argued that workers legally dismissed cannot simply be reinstated and that changes to the retirement age should first be addressed through legislation before the company and union determine how to implement them.
The union argues that the long-running issues must be resolved in some form this year to preserve trust between labor and management.
At the Aug. 18 negotiations, Hyundai proposed discussing whether to reinstate dismissed workers at the end of the year. It also proposed negotiating the timing of a retirement-age extension through a supplemental agreement once legislation is amended.
The union rejected the proposals, calling them symbolic rather than substantive.
“Management’s proposals remain inadequate even though negotiations that had been deadlocked for an extended period have resumed,” the union said. “We will continue efforts to reach an agreement while putting pressure on management through strikes.”
The union has staged intermittent walkouts since wage talks began this year. Through Aug. 14, cumulative strike time had reached 44 hours.
A prolonged dispute could add to production and labor-cost risks for Hyundai as the global auto industry faces a costly transition toward electric vehicles, batteries and software-defined cars. For investors, the negotiations also offer a measure of how effectively major automakers can contain manufacturing costs while maintaining labor stability during that transition.
