Hyundai Motor raises N.America workforce, cuts China staff

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, ramped up its workforce in North America by more than 50% last year where its presence is growing while slashing staff in China on its sluggish business.

The number of Hyundai’s employees in North America grew 54.8% to 15,953 as of the end-2021 from a year earlier, according to Hyundai’s sustainability report released on Thursday. On the other hand, workers in its Chinese unit declined 18.4% to 10,741 during the period.

Staff numbers in Europe and India also dipped 5.3% and 3.8%, respectively, to 9,480 and 9,725.

Hyundai, together with its affiliate Kia Corp., ranked the No. 5 automaker in the US, selling 702,785 vehicles in total during the first half. General Motor Co. topped the list of best-selling automakers in the world’s second-largest car market, followed by Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV.

Hyundai and Kia were also the No. 2 player together in the world’s third-largest US electric vehicle market after the industry giant Tesla Inc. in the first quarter.

Hyundai is actively expanding its presence there, adding EV lines at its existing plant and planning a new factory dedicated to the eco-friendly vehicles. In May, Hyundai Motor Group unveiled $10.5 billion investment plans in the US through 2025 to expand its future mobility business.

By contrast, Hyundai has been struggling to lure customers in China, the world’s largest market for automobiles, including EVs. Its sales tumbled 40.7% to 18,229 cars in June from a year earlier, while sales of Kia also declined 15.5% to 9,330 units. Their market shares stayed around only 1-2%.

The group’s sales in China have been falling since 2016. Chinese units of both Hyundai and Kia reported operating losses of more than 1 trillion won and 400 billion won, respectively, last year.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.