Hyundai Motor Company Offers Special Lecture Series

On March 8, it was confirmed that the Hyundai/Kia Motors has begun giving special lectures to all its employees (excluding assembly line workers) in order to let them know that their company is having a hard time and that they need to come up with countermeasures.

The lectures, which will be given to some 20,000 employees, started on February 19 and will continue through March 27.

This is the first time the Hyundai Motor Group has offered a lecture to all its employees. It is said that the reason why manual workers are excluded from the lecture is because of the company’s unique work system and the labor union.

Many of participants who attended the 3-hour session came away with a sense of crisis, and that if things did not improve, the company would go bankrupt.

Special session held to evoke a sense of urgency-

The beleaguered car manufacturer is facing a slew of problems: sluggish sales, the appreciating won, labor disputes, hostile public opinion, good performance by Japanese car makers, and Chinese car companies that are trailing closely behind.

Recognition of these unfavorable conditions has prompted senior officials of the company to seek countermeasures. The company must have felt that its unusual business strategies announced several times before and simple lectures have not been enough to overcome the firm’s current hardships. Reportedly, workers have started changing their way of thinking.

A senior official from the car-manufacturing group said, “We know if we emphasize a sense of crisis too much, that will backfire by demoralizing our workers, but we have decided to offer the special lecture series anyway. We really want to pull our company out of its quagmire.”

In the past, the company has made difficult situations known to employees via its intranet. However, this time around, the firm sent out e-mails to all employees to notify them of the lecture schedule.

Lectures have been held at Hyundai headquarters in Yangjae-dong for employees working in Seoul; the rest of Hyundai’s workforce in Ulsan, Jeonju and Hwaseong is attending lectures at their respective locations.

This year is the last chance to make a difference-

Hyundai’s Korea Automotive Research Institute and education planning team, which are in charge of special sessions, explained in detail the problems the company is undergoing.

In the lecture, the company explained that it is struggling in the U.S market because of weakening price competitiveness and strong performances by Japanese carmakers.

The lecture has also covered worsening public sentiment against the company and a boycott movement caused by unfortunate incidents the company has been involved in. It was also emphasized that if sales of the Veracruz SUV that will début in the American market soon, and the company’s next generation luxury car, the BH, scheduled to be released in the first half of 2008, are slow, the company will be in hot water.

It was also mentioned in the lecture that Hyundai’s productivity is lower than that of Toyota’s, and that Chinese competitors are trailing right behind. The message was, “If we don’t make big changes immediately, we will be liquidated.”

A Mr. K, who attended the special session, said, “I knew that our company was in emergency business mode but I did not know things were that bad. Now I feel the winds of change on my company.”

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