Hyundai Motor and its labor union hold the first negotiations for 2026 in Ulsan on May 6. [NEWS1]
Thirty percent of total net profit as a bonus. A guarantee that robots won't cost workers their jobs.
Hyundai Motor's wage negotiations opened Wednesday at the automaker's Ulsan plant with the most aggressive union demands in recent memory, as labor and management brace for a broader battle over the shape of the company's AI- and robotics-driven future production system.
The negotiating session opened about a month earlier than last year. Affiliate automaker Kia, which held last year's labor negotiations in August, is finalizing its own agenda and is expected to begin talks in the near future.
Hyundai’s union submitted a list of demands to management before the talks that included a 149,600 won ($103) increase in monthly base pay on top of seniority raises, performance bonuses equivalent to 30 percent of last year’s net profit, an 800 percent increase in bonuses, raising the retirement age to 65, additional hiring, a shift from hourly wages to a monthly salary and shorter working hours without increased labor intensity.
The most immediately contentious issue is the performance bonus.
Since 2024, the union has demanded that workers receive 30 percent of the company's annual net profit.
The argument is straightforward: As the company earns more, workers should share proportionally in that success.
The demand is aggressive even by the standards of Korea's increasingly assertive labor movement.
SK hynix, the semiconductor giant, set a benchmark when it agreed to pay bonuses equivalent to 10 percent — but of operating profit. Samsung Electronics' union is currently demanding 15 percent, and Samsung Biologics' union is asking for 20 percent.
The Hyundai union's demand of 30 percent of net profit — not operating revenue — produces dizzying numbers: With the automaker's net profit of 10.36 trillion won last year, A 30 percent cut would amount to roughly 3.09 trillion won paid out to workers.
Companies warn that this dynamic is becoming a problem in its own right.
As bonus demands escalate from one major employer to the next, the risk is a bonus game of chicken — each union citing a rival's settlement as justification to push further — that inflates labor costs across the board, squeezes investment budgets, weakens the ability of large companies to support their supplier networks and deepens social tensions.
Atlas, the humanoid robot unveiled earlier this year by Boston Dynamics [HYUNDAI MOTOR]
Lurking behind the wage talks is also an existential anxiety: the humanoid robot.
Hyundai has been deploying Atlas, its humanoid robot developed by the U.S.-based affiliate Boston Dynamics, in test scenarios, with an eye toward eventual integration into production lines.
For factory workers paid by the hour, the implications are direct.
The union argues that if Atlas takes over production tasks, workers’ hours — and therefore their hourly wages — will decline. To offset that risk, it is pushing for a full fixed monthly salary system that would guarantee stable pay regardless of hours worked, shielding workers from wage reductions caused by automation.
For management, the trade-off is equally clear in the other direction: A fixed salary structure means labor costs become a constant regardless of production output, removing a key mechanism for managing costs during downturns or transitions.
The union has already gone on record stating it will refuse to allow Atlas to be deployed on production lines without a prior agreement and is demanding that domestic production volumes be maintained to protect employment.
The union is also trying to bring Hyundai’s factory redevelopment plans into the negotiations — an area companies usually treat as a management-only decision.
Hyundai plans to rebuild and modernize aging facilities, including a plant in Ulsan. During the reconstruction period, production at those facilities would stop, leading to temporary job losses.
The union is demanding that the company guarantee employment and arrange transfers for affected workers — and has warned that if those demands are not met, it will move to block the redevelopment from going forward.
Industry observers expect the negotiations to be protracted.
The gap between what the union is demanding and what management is willing to give is wide, and several of the union's demands — particularly around factory investment decisions — touch on areas companies typically consider off-limits for collective bargaining.
Last year's talks ended after three partial strikes, breaking a six-year streak of dispute-free settlements. The final deal included a base pay increase of 100,000 won per month, a bonus equivalent to 450 percent of base salary plus a 15.8 million won lump sum and 30 shares of company stock.
Kim Ki-chan, an emeritus professor of business administration at Catholic University of Korea, urged both sides to enter talks with a longer perspective.
"As Hyundai transforms from an automaker into a robotics and AI company, it would be desirable for all stakeholders — including labor — to find a path where they can grow together," he said. "Workers need to move beyond seeing Atlas as a short-term competitor for their jobs, and start thinking about it in terms of their own future growth potential."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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