Ssangyong Motor places 350 workers on paid leave

Loss-making Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), said Tuesday it has allowed some 350 workers to take paid leave in an effort to cut costs as sales plunged.

The latest cost-cutting program, which won the union's agreement, was aimed at "flexibly responding to a global economic recession," Ssangyong Motor said in a statement.

When contacted by telephone, Kim Beom-seok, an official at Ssangyong's public relations team, said he was unsure how long the workers will take the paid-leave or how much they will be paid.

In the first nine months of this year, Ssangyong's vehicle sales declined 30.2 per cent to 66,793 units.