Renault Samsung to idle sole plant in S. Korea for 12 days

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA said Tuesday it will shut down its sole assembly plant here for the first time amid a sharp slump in vehicle sales.

The factory in the southeastern port city of Busan, which builds SM7, SM5 sedans
and QM5 crossover vehicles, will be idled from Wednesday until Jan. 4, company
officials said. Its some 2,700 factory workers will be granted paid leave.
It will be the first such plant shutdown since Renault acquired an 80.1 percent
stake in Samsung Motor in September 2000 from the former automotive unit of
Samsung Group.
"Production will resume early next year," said an official at Renault Samsung,
declining to say how much the 12-day shutdown will cost the carmaker.
Last month, Renault Samsung suffered a massive 30.6 percent decline in auto sales.
Renault Samsung, the second-smallest automaker in South Korea, joined GM Daewoo
Auto & Technology Co. and Ssangyong Motor Co. in closing plants to control rising
inventories and cut costs.
Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's top two
carmakers, are cutting daily work hours to adjust their production volumes.
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