'Voluntary' Austerity

 

The top management of the Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which has six subsidiaries of Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Hyundai Oil Bank, HI Investment & Securities and Hyundai Corporation, decided to be paid no salary at all until the group makes a turnaround. The 300 or so executive members of the companies are to be paid 50 percent of their salaries and about 150 directors in charge of the shipbuilding business of the group are to return 10 percent of theirs until then.

Hyundai Heavy Industries is currently headed by chairman Choi Kil-seon and president Kwon Oh-kap, and thus the number of the CEOs to return 100 percent of their salaries is seven. It is said that the latter has been doing so since November last year, when he sent a letter to employees as to the dire situations the group was in the face of.

The entire group is required to come up with at least a small annual operating profit on a consolidated basis for the drastic measure to be lifted. The seven CEOs’ salaries are slated to be zero since the requirement is based on the annual amount.

This is expected to lead to a cost reduction of 25 billion won a year. In addition, inessential events and programs are temporarily suspended and facility investment is curtailed or postponed, too. Then, approximately 500 billion won is predicted to be saved in current and capital expenditures.

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