Hanwha Ocean will apply the same performance bonuses to prime and subcontracted workers. The intent is to share management performance without discrimination between prime contractors and subcontractors. With this measure, about 15,000 employees of partner firms will receive bonuses at the same rate as prime-contractor employees.
Hanwha Ocean said on Dec. 11 that it decided to align performance bonuses for in-house partner companies with the bonuses paid to Hanwha Ocean employees. In 2024, Hanwha Ocean employees received performance bonuses equivalent to 150% of base pay, while partner-company employees received 75% of base pay. With this move, prime and subcontracted employees will receive bonuses at the same rate.
Hanwha Ocean explained that it is meaningful in that directly employed workers and partner-company workers share the results and put mutual growth into practice. It added that, as all shipyard workers receive the same performance rewards, productivity gains are also expected through stable process control.
An increase in the employment of Korean nationals by partner companies is also expected. In the shipbuilding industry, there had been criticism that the performance bonus rate paid to partner firms was lower than the rate paid to directly employed workers, making it difficult to secure skilled Korean workers. Because bonuses are calculated based on base pay, the policy aims to encourage long-term tenure and promote the development of skilled Korean workers.
Shipbuilding is one of the representative industries with a high proportion of foreign workers. Foreign workers at partner companies account for about 20% to 30% of the total, exceeding 10,000.
On Apr. 4, Hanwha Ocean said in its in-house newsletter that it "will expand support resources for in-house partner companies so that they can provide practical help in improving working conditions for partner-company workers, and, as part of mutual growth between prime contractors and subcontractors, will share management performance and achieve sustainable growth together."