Massive Layoffs Expected at Korea's Shipyards, Subcontractors

1만5천명 감원-3천만원 성과급…조선-정유 '극과 극' A prolonged slump in global crude prices has been good for oil-related industries,... but bad news for others. Among hardest hit are Korea's shipbuilding giants... who experienced eye-watering losses on the back of cancelled orders and delayed construction. Kim Min-ji tells us more. Korea's "big three" shipbuilders,... namely,... Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries,... have .. have been in choppy waters so to speak-- struggling to stay afloat amid falling orders as well as the rise of Chinese competition. Last year,... they posted a combined loss of roughly seven billion U.S. dollars,... and as a result have been downsizing their labor forces. Hyundai is expected to layoff about 3-thousand people this year,... after letting go of some 13-hundred workers last year. More than 100 of its subcontractors also closed down last year. Samsung has also cut almost 30 executive-level workers since last September,... while Daewoo is accepting voluntary resignations among some 300 high-level employees. Sixteen contractors of the company have closed down since the end of last year -- with some 34-hundred people losing their jobs. All in all,... some 15-thousand people were laid off last year,... and that figure is set to increase this year once the shipbuilders complete construction of offshore facilities scheduled to begin delivery next year. But it's a different story for the oil refining and petrochemical industries,... which have been able to benefit from low global oil prices,... and increased refinement margins. Workers have also received performance-based incentives,... amounting to between 700 and 800 percent of their monthly wages. "With global oil prices decreasing by more than half,... there's been cancellations of offshore plants and no new orders. On the other hand, oil-related industries have been doing well thanks to increased demand and refining margins. The situation may get better for shipyards if oil prices rise to about 60 dollars a barrel,... but that's not expected this year." The government on Tuesday will announce a financing plan for industries that urgently need to be restructured... with priority given to shipping and shipbuilding. Korea's finance minister Yoo Il-ho says the utmost priority should be the measures and efforts taken by the companies and creditors,... and that the government's role should be to support them. Kim Min-ji, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): ****** Homepage: ****** Facebook: ****** Twitter: ****** Instagram: ****** ...