Hyundai to cut jobs in Chinese joint-venture in South Korea
China suffered its first sales contraction in over 20 years due to pressure from a China-US trade war and the phasing out of tax cuts on smaller cars
Seoul — Hyundai says its Chinese joint venture is accepting voluntary retirements from employees and reviewing various “optimisation plans” at its factories in the country, following a slump in car sales. China, the world's biggest car market, suffered its first sales contraction in more than two decades in 2018 due to pressure from a crippling Sino-US trade war and the phasing out of tax cuts on smaller cars. These added to troubles for the South Korean vehicle maker, which is still recovering from a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing that had badly affected demand for Korean products in China. Hyundai, which together with affiliate Kia Motors was the third-biggest vehicle maker in China until 2016, is now saddled with overcapacity, with its 2018 China sales reaching only half of its total production capacity. “Hyundai Motor is reviewing various optimisation plans to enhance facility efficiency around the Chinese New Year Holidays,” the car maker said in a statement on Friday...
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