Workers end standoff at South Korean auto plant
Workers at a South Korean automaker agreed to end their 77-day occupation of the plant today in exchange for the company's decision to retain 48% of the workers in the upcoming restructuring, rather than laying them all off. Ssangyong Motor Company filed for bankruptcy protection in January and several thousand of its workers have since been laid off, or bought out with incentive packages. All 970 workers at the disputed plant were slated for lay-off. Most of the workers took part in the strike that began on May 22, but as brutality and clashes with the police rose, and Ssangyong shut off the plant's water supply, many left. Around 100 workers remained until today, and management has indicated that these 100 will be among those who retain their jobs. The company has also agreed not to press criminal charges against the union, despite police allegations that the workers incited some of the violent episodes.
See "Workers end standoff at South Korean auto plant", Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times, August 6, 2009