LEAD) Hyundai, Kia freeze some wages, cut 2008 sales target by 12.5 pct

((ATTN: UPDATES with Hyundai and Kia freezing salaries for office managers in lead
para, quote in para 5; AMENDS headline)
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp.
said Monday they have frozen salaries for office managers and cut combined sales
targets this year by 12.5 percent as a global economic downturn significantly
weakened demand for new vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia, South Korea's two largest automakers, aim to sell 4.2 million
vehicles worldwide this year, down from an earlier target of 4.8 million units,
the two companies said in a joint statement, without saying separate sales goals
for the two carmakers.
In the first 11 months of this year, Hyundai sold 2.56 million vehicles, while
Kia sold 1.28 million vehicles, the two firms said early this month.
In the statement, Hyundai and Kia said they will expand an "emergency management
system" to all plants at home and overseas to ride out the industry crisis.
Hyundai and Kia "are making utmost efforts to overcome the deteriorating business
conditions," the statement said, adding inventory for overseas sales is reaching
1.06 million vehicles.
Since early this month, Hyundai and Kia have cut daily work hours by an average
of four hours and adjusted production volumes to control rising inventories,
according to the statement.
(END)