A request for an injunction filed by the GM Korea labor union to block the closure of General Motors (GM) Korea operations' (GM Korea) company-run service centers and the reassignment of personnel has been dismissed.
According to the legal community and industry on the 15th, the Incheon District Court Civil Division 21, presided over by Chief Judge Park Jin-young, on the 13th dismissed the "injunction to prohibit reassignment, etc." filed by the Korea GM branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union against management. As a result, GM Korea's plan to end operations at its company-run service centers has gained legal legitimacy. The redeployment of about 450 employees affiliated with the service centers, whose duties have been officially terminated, is also expected to proceed normally.
GM Korea had announced late last year that, as of today, it would shut all nine company-run service centers nationwide. GM Korea said it would secure fiscal soundness by selling assets such as the sites of the company-run centers and transfer maintenance and repair work to 383 partner service centers nationwide. The union immediately pushed back. On the 26th of last month, it filed for an injunction with the Incheon District Court, arguing, "This outsources automobile safety and will result in damage to consumers, so management must not close the company-run service centers," and moved to respond.
As differences persisted, GM Korea shared a plan to operate a tentative High-tech Center with the union at the second meeting of the "special labor-management council working group" on the 2nd. The High-tech Center is a dedicated organization that manages partner service centers nationwide by dividing them into three regions: Seoul/Gyeonggi/Gangwon, Chungcheong/Jeolla, and Gyeongsang. The idea is for skilled technicians from the former company-run centers to provide support for high-difficulty work and regular training at partner centers.
GM Korea's organization of the High-tech Center is a measure taken in view of concerns about a potential "maintenance gap" that could arise from the closure of nine company-run centers nationwide on the 15th. Determining that deficits from operating the company-run centers were severe and that closure was unavoidable for efficiency, GM Korea plans to use the High-tech Center to keep the service level at partner centers on par with that of the company-run centers, minimizing customer anxiety.
The union, however, was reportedly opposed.