Hyundai Motor and Labor Union Reach Wage Deal After First Full Strike in Decade Over AI Concerns

Hyundai Motor Union Strike Ends With Tentative Wage Agreement

Hyundai Motor and its labor union reached a tentative wage agreement early Tuesday, concluding stalled wage negotiations that triggered the automaker's first full-day strike in a decade3

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. The tentative wage deal, reached at the 17th round of talks, includes a base pay increase of 100,000 won ($72.20) per month, a performance bonus exceeding 400 percent of monthly salary, and an additional payment of 12.5 million won3

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. The agreement is subject to union approval in a vote scheduled for August 31.

Production Disruptions From Hyundai Motor Union Strike

Approximately 40,000 union members participated in Friday's walkout, which shut down all three of Hyundai Motor's domestic facilities in Ulsan, Asan, and Jeonju for the entire day1

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. Neither the morning nor afternoon eight-hour shift operated, leaving production lines idle for sixteen hours total. The full-day strike marked the first eight-hour work stoppage since 2016, following a series of partial walkouts ranging from two to six hours since late July1

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. These production disruptions resulted in cumulative losses of approximately 55,200 vehicles worth more than 2.3 trillion won ($1.67 billion)2

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. The 400,000-member union staged a combined 60 hours of strikes this year, totaling about 120 hours of production disruptions across two shifts3

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Job Protections Against AI and Automation Drive Worker Demands

The labor union's demands centered on job protections against AI and automation as Hyundai Motor accelerates its robotics expansion. Union representatives warned that AI endangered white-collar workers in research and engineering, not just factory floor employees. "Even if AI is introduced, we are prepared to fight it -- and prepared to win," Korean Metal Workers' Union vice president Kim Byung-chul stated1

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. The union had originally demanded written guarantees protecting jobs as Hyundai Motor expands its use of AI and robots, along with raising the mandatory retirement age to as high as 651

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. The tentative wage agreement addresses these concerns by committing both sides to transparently share information on new projects and jointly respond to future changes in the industry involving physical AI and robotics3

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Boston Dynamics and Humanoid Robots Deployment Plans

Hyundai Motor's AI concerns reflect its aggressive push into robotics through Boston Dynamics, the humanoid robot maker it acquired full ownership of from SoftBank Group earlier this summer in a deal valued at roughly $325 million1

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. The company plans to deploy Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robots at its Georgia plant beginning in 2028, starting with applications like welding and materials handling, with plans to gradually expand their use across production sites1

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. Hyundai Motor and the labor union agreed that adopting advanced technologies, including physical AI and robotics, is essential to the company's future competitiveness and survival in the transition to future mobility3

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Retirement Age Extension and Additional Benefits

The tentative wage agreement includes extending the retirement age from the current 60 to 65 if related laws and regulations are revised, without reducing salary for the first few years after 604

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. This addresses union demands aligned with South Korea's status as one of the world's fastest-ageing countries. From next year until 2028, Hyundai Motor will hire 500 new technical workers4

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. The union had originally sought to raise annual bonuses to 800% of monthly base salary from 750%, though the final agreement settled on a 400 percent performance bonus1

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. Union leader Lee Jong-cheol had argued at a rally outside Hyundai Motor's Seoul headquarters that workers who built the company over decades were being pushed into contract positions1

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