[Asia Times — Park Si-ha] Internal conflict over Hyundai Mobis’s planned sale of its lamp business has intensified. Critics say Hyundai Mobis signed an employment-transfer agreement exclusively with one union, triggering union-versus-union clashes, and left many key employment-transfer terms for later negotiation—fueling concerns that the company is primarily focused on separating the unit from Hyundai Motor Group.
Industry sources said on the 11th that Unitus, Hyundai Mobis’s production subsidiary, signed an “Agreement for Sustainable Growth of the Lamp Business and Employment Stability” with the Gimcheon Hyundai Mobis branch.
The agreement came two days after the Gimcheon branch and others, including the Hyundai IHL branch, held a joint rally pledging coordinated opposition to the lamp-business sale. The joint task force had escalated pressure by warning that strikes could disrupt Hyundai vehicle production.
Following those developments, the Gimcheon branch abruptly withdrew from coordinated actions after its dispute-response committee met, exposing a split within the labor movement. Some analysts say the agreement exacerbated tensions. The joint task force accused Mobis management of deceptive tactics that “encouraged worker division” and called for accountability.
The terms for employment transfer are also contentious. The agreement states that working conditions, attendance systems and welfare programs will “in principle transfer laterally, but will be continuously negotiated with the acquiring company.” In practice, this leaves many core conditions unresolved and subject to future negotiation with the buyer.
On the shop floor, workers reacted strongly to a clause that requires the parties to “draw up separate measures and continue negotiations with the buyer” for items that may be difficult to apply equally—such as vehicle-purchase support, where Hyundai Motor Group currently offers roughly a 5% discount off the vehicle delivery price to group employees.
Workers view this not only as a reduction in benefits but as a symbolic step toward separation from the Hyundai Motor Group structure. They worry that exiting the group umbrella could deprive them of current levels of performance bonuses and weaken the business’s long-term stability.
The company has also faced criticism over the planned consolation payments. According to the agreement, the company will provide a contribution consolation payment equivalent to total performance bonuses from 2021–2025 and a New Start incentive of 50,000,000 KRW (approximately $37,500). Critics say finalizing one-off payments before resolving core employment conditions looks like an attempt to quiet opposition with temporary compensation.
If unions aside from the Gimcheon branch continue to protest, the risk of production disruption could increase. The auto industry operates on a just-in-time (JIT) system, where a halt in the supply of a single part can affect entire assembly lines. Industry officials warn that a prolonged conflict could impose production burdens on Hyundai and Kia.
Unions that have not agreed to the employment transfer say they will continue their campaign. The joint task force announced it had renamed itself the “Joint Countermeasure Committee on the Sale,” reaffirmed its commitment to sustained action, and plans to expand the committee to include nine Motras branches and affiliated chapters.
With the Hyundai Mobis lamp-business sale still pending, a prolonged union dispute would also place significant strain on the sale process itself.
