hugo90

Daewoo layoffs spark firebomb protests
First Published:
Wednesday, February 21, 2001




By J.H. YUN, Associated Press

Swinging steel pipes and hosing water from hydrants, 200 laid-off Daewoo Motor Co. workers fought police Monday, demanding their jobs back at the ailing car firm.

Several workers and police were injured in the one-hour clash at Daewoo's main plant in Bupyong, 30 kilometers west of Seoul, where 350 laid-off workers and their families staged a sit-in for the fourth straight day.

At least one worker was detained by police. Workers vowed to continue the fight.

After weeks of negotiations with the union failed, Daewoo Motor laid off 1,751 workers on Friday to make it more attractive to General Motors Corp. GM began negotiations to take over Daewoo in September but it reportedly is reluctant to continue without layoffs.

Last week's dismissals reduced Daewoo's total work force by 44 percent to 10,655. Most of the layoffs came from the company's main plant, which was inefficient because of its outdated facilities.

About 300 laid-off workers and their families began a sit-down protest on Friday night inside the Bupyong plant. Early Saturday, they were joined by 50 workers who slipped past police lines.

An estimated 2,500 riot police, armed with helmets, batons a metre long and plastic shields, blocked all gates into the plant. In scattered clashes over the weekend, at least two workers and three riot police were slightly injured, police said.

In Monday's clash, workers fought police at the plant's main gate, hurling rocks and carrying steel pipes. Some used fire extinguishers to attack police.

"Guarantee our right to survive," protesters shouted as they charged into columns of police who formed human barrier, holding shields interlocked in front of them.

Workers hosed water over police across the steel gate. Some police struggled to shake frosty water off their faces and padded uniforms. At one point, police also brought a fire truck to hose down the workers.

Police obtained arrest warrants for 30 union leaders but were reluctant to move into the plant for fear of violent clashes. Workers erected barricades at the gates with trucks and other steel structures.

"We've nothing more to lose," union leader Kim Il-sup said on state KBS-TV. "What can we do but protest?"

Daewoo officials said they did not think the protest would spread out of control because 5,000 workers at the company's two other plants in Kunsan and Changwon were not expected to join in the protest.

The government of President Kim Dae-jung considers layoffs a necessary step towards revamping the nation's bloated big businesses and regaining investor confidence.

Daewoo Motor, South Korea's third largest car maker, collapsed in the midst of the 1997-98 Asian economic crisis. It has been surviving under court receivership since it filed for bankruptcy in November under an estimated bank debt of $19 billion.

porsche911

DAMN

Morpheus XIII

Kim Woo, where are you?! Come back and prove that Daewoo can be more than a simple automotive firm that sells its products through college dormrooms... We believe...

Hyundai and Kia have both proven their worthiness via the Paris Dakar rally. Show us your gameplan...

QueenBee

:o i know where he is!!! he's kicking it with tupac on a caribbean island getting drinks with little umbrellas and getting a tan..

Euro19

Asia Pulse; Jan 8, 2002


DETROIT, Jan 8 Asia Pulse - The decision on whether or not to retain the Daewoo Motor brand after the Korean firm becomes an affiliate of US-based auto giant General Motors Corp will be contingent upon market factors, said GM president Rick Wagoner.

Speaking to reporters at the North American International Motor Show (NAIAS), the GM executive said the conditions that would compel changing the Daewoo name were the continuing slump in the market, excessive sales or marketing costs and low profit returns.

"At present, Daewoo cars are being well-received by consumers both in the global and U.S. markets, so we have no immediate desire to make any changes in this department," said Wagoner.

He stressed that the Korean carmaker was recognized for producing good quality autos at affordable prices and possessed considerable acumen in developing products that appealed to customers. The executive said that GM was looking to take advantage of these strengths and noted that Daewoo would play an integral part in the U.S. automaker's strategy for Asia and the world. He noted that there was considerable room for expansion in emerging Asian markets.

Concerning some criticism being leveled at GM over the "cheap" purchase price of the Korean carmaker, Wagoner said that the important thing at the moment was to make the company competitive. He said that the first order of business for Daewoo was to reduce its financial liabilities, which are estimated at around 22 trillion won. The car maker reported assets worth 9.1 trillion won two years ago when it filed for bankruptcy.

He also said that though there was speculation that a final deal would be struck by mid-February no definitive date could be given.

"Every effort is being made to strike a deal as soon as possible so that the GM-Daewoo tie up could be concluded," he said.

Meanwhile, Daewoo said that it will move to dismiss over 10 per cent of its employees involved in sales to give GM, the world's largest automaker, more leeway in labor and management relations.

(YONHAP)


World Reporter All Material Subject to Copyright

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why is everybody talking all this stuff about me, why don´t just they let me live?



- Daewoo

The Best SUV it´s korean!

fatbot225

I don't know if other Daewoo dealerships in the USA are doing this but there's one dealership in New Jersey (South Jersey/Camden County/Burlington County) or Philadelphia(not sure) area that has a buy one Daewoo car get another FREE.

That's right buy a Daewoo car get another Daewoo car FREE.

No joke.

This special sale ends this coming Monday 9PM.

If someone else in the South Jersey area has heard the commercial on the radio or see their newspaper ad, please back me up on this.

When me & my friend heard the commercial on the radio we were just like...WTF!?!

Hudson

Daewoo in the US suffers from AMAZINGLY poor resale since Daewoo America closed. I've heard stories dealers selling at a fraction of their invoice prices. I saw an add in the paper for a low-mileage late model used Daewoo and I thought "heck, you could buy a NEW one for that price."