Efforts to Restart Plant in St. Petersburg Continuing
Hyundai Motor Co.’s production subsidiary in St. Petersburg, Russia, will implement a layoff program for its employees from Jan. 16 to Feb. 27.
The company's plant in St. Petersburg, which used to produce 200,000 vehicles a year, has been suspended since March 2022 due to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
At one time, the plant had 2,500 employees, but since the shutdown, 90 percent of the employees have been put on leave. Following the announced layoff, nobody knows whether the plant will reopen. The Korean automaker is planning to lay off close to 2,200 workers.
However, apart from the layoff, Hyundai Motor Group is expected to continue to make efforts to revive the Russian plant. Hyundai Motor’s Russian subsidiary is expected to actively discuss the resumption of the plant's operation with local authorities
“Currently, the St. Petersburg plant is only producing parts for the maintenance and repair of the vehicles already sold,” said an executive of Hyundai Motor's Russia subsidiary in a recent public event “However, to resume production, we are looking for solutions with the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the St. Petersburg city government.”
However, according to local media outlets, the St. Petersburg Labor and Employment Committee will extend the suspension of Hyundai Motor’s plant until at least the end of January.
Some experts even speculate that Hyundai Motor may resell the St. Petersburg plant, which it took over from GM in 2020. Astana Motors, Hyundai’s partner in Kazakhstan, is known to be interested in acquiring the plant.
Apart from the shutdown of the Russian plant, Hyundai Motor is selling vehicles in Russia through online and offline channels. Currently, the Tucson, the Palisade, and the Santa Fe are being sold in major Russian cities such as Moscow.