Hyundai and Kia workers strike for first time in a decade over robotics threat

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Workers from Hyundai, Kia, and suppliers went on strike in South Korea.

Employees are demanding a higher retirement age and better job protections.

Union members are worried about Hyundai’s plan to deploy robots at factories.

Hyundai and Kia employees in South Korea have walked off the assembly line as they’ve reportedly held their first full ‌strike in a decade. They were joined by people who work for suppliers as all three groups are demanding better pay and job security.

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According to Reuters , around 40,000 union members from Hyundai are expected to strike and a handful of them traveled to the company’s headquarters to hold a rally outside. The publication says the one-day strike is meant to highlight their demands to increase the mandatory retirement age past its current level of 60.

More: The AI Robots Won’t Strike, So Hyundai’s Workers Did It First

Workers are also said to be seeking bigger bonuses as well as better job protections against automation and artificial intelligence. The latter is becoming increasingly important as the company is gearing up to start using robots from Boston ⁠Dynamics at their plants in 2028.

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Korean Metal Workers’ Union

This naturally raises fears that robots could end up replacing human workers in a bit to cut costs and increase productivity. In July, the automaker said the Atlas robot is expected to enter service at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in two years and initially support parts sequencing tasks. However, the company expects the robot will become more capable over time and eventually be able to perform component assembly by 2030.

Park Sang-man, the chairman of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, said “This strike is to protect the roots of Korea’s automobile industry and uphold the dignity of labor.” The union also noted the joint strike involved employees from approximately 50 sites.

The strike is the latest in a series of labor disruptions that started in July and reportedly involved partial walkouts. These efforts are said to have impacted the production of around 55,200 vehicles worth over $1.67 billion.

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