Bad news everyone: Ssangyong in trouble

Hercules286

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
1,663
Location
Sofia, Bulgaria
Korea's smallest carmaker Ssangyong Motors on Sunday said it cannot pay December salaries, which were due on Wednesday. Domestic carmakers saw a steep drop in sales in due to the worldwide economic crisis, but this is the first time a domestic automaker has failed to pay workers the money it owes them.

In letters to staff sent Friday, Ssangyong said, "The company is expected to post a deficit of more than W100 billion (US$1=W1,292) this year alone. Due to lack of operating funds for December, it is impossible for the company to pay salaries any longer."

It had asked the head office of its parent company Shanghai Automotive Industry in China for emergency operating funds, but the request was turned because the in-house union had called for Chinese executives to resign, Ssangyong said. Shanghai Automotive took over Ssangyong in January 2005 by buying 48.9 percent stake, bringing holdings to 51.3 percent. Ssangyong employs about 8,000 staff -- 2,500 white-collar workers and 5,500 production-line workers.

The Ssangyong executive committee plans a protest rally against management in front of the company's Pyeongtaek plant in Gyeonggi Province at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.

Ssangyong began suspending the operation of all plants, including the Pyeongtaek plant, for three weeks last Wednesday. On Dec. 12, Ssangyong drastically downscaled its entire organization by merging the domestic business division, the overseas business division, and the services division into a single one, and fired a dozen key executives. A Ssangyong executive said, "The company will conduct an additional round of restructuring focusing on its business departments."

With domestic sales dropping 34.5 percent from January until November, the number of Ssangyong's dealerships has shrunk by about 60, from 237 early this year to the current 180. November sales alone fell by 63 percent year-on-year.

Source

tl/dr: They can't pay their workers because they make ugly cars, and they've ran out of money. The SAIC won't give them money until the management resigns, which will probably happen, but hopefully it's too late and they don't have pretty cars in the oven.
 
Er, who?
 
I would have been surprised they sold any cars at all, but the fact that I see at least one every day on my way to school means they managed to fool a couple of hundred of people. I actually sat in that ugly pick-up they make and the interior smell like some kind of cheap Chinese plastic shoe.
 
Normally car-makers derive a street-car from a concept car. Ssangyong makes a habit of deriving the street-car from a concept car and then slashing with an axe, have a child vomit on it and then let the dog eat it. Then, in true western "Gone in 60 Seconds"-style, what comes out of the other end of the dog is the end result.

Might I just add that this is what makes the Ssangyong special and anyone who doesn't buy one of their cars is simply too unintelligent to appreciate the amount of effort that goes into these excellent "vehicles".
 
Thank god.
 
While I feel for the workers caught up in this - a world without Ssangyong vehicles would be a better place.

I feel (unconditionally) sorry. Sure, Ssangyong's are, without exception, incredibly unattractive vehicles but they are also very individual in their designs and add a little variety to what you see on the road. I see a Ssangyong on the road and I think .. "wow, there must be a story there, as to why that thing was purchased" .... while on the other hand, if I see a white Toyota Carolla sedan on the road my mind just fogs over and craves stimulation from something else.
 
I feel (unconditionally) sorry. Sure, Ssangyong's are, without exception, incredibly unattractive vehicles but they are also very individual in their designs and add a little variety to what you see on the road. I see a Ssangyong on the road and I think .. "wow, there must be a story there, as to why that thing was purchased" .... while on the other hand, if I see a white Toyota Carolla sedan on the road my mind just fogs over and craves stimulation from something else.

thats exactly what im thinking when i see one too... Here in Norway there are scary many of them, it seems... i just wanna ask the owners 1 question:lol:
 
That actually is a shame, because Ssangyong still builds the W124 E-class under license as the Ssangyong "Chairman" with some of the original Mercedes tooling and machinery.

Which, of course, means that they're making a lot of parts for the 80s and 90s Mercedes and helping to keep those vehicles' running costs down.
 
:cry::(
 
I am being entirely serious when I say this. The Rodius is the ONLY car I have ever sat in which has a lack of vertical rear legroom. Its like sitting in the very rear seats in an XC90. I do not know how they managed to do that in such a large car.
 
Ah, yes... the automaker that proportion forgot.
 
Top