SsangYong Motor cut a third of its workforce and spent 77 days under siege by workers

SsangYong Motor, one of South Korea's oldest automakers, was put into receivership in January 2009 after recording a $75.42 million loss. The global financial crisis had crushed demand, and the company's Chinese owner SAIC Motor was accused of failing to invest and illegally transferring technology. Management announced plans to cut 2,600 jobs — a third of the workforce.

The response was explosive. Workers barricaded themselves inside the main factory in a strike that lasted 77 days. Violence erupted: strikers threw Molotov cocktails at police, and police used electroshock weapons. One elderly worker died from a cerebral hemorrhage within the first 12 days. The strike became one of the most violent labor disputes in South Korean corporate history.

SsangYong was acquired by India's Mahindra & Mahindra in 2011 for $463.6 million. The company briefly recovered, launching the Tivoli in 2015 and reporting its first net profit in 9 years. But the turnaround failed. In December 2020, SsangYong filed for receivership again with 315.3 billion won ($285 million) in overdue debt. It was finally acquired by KG Group for 900 billion won and renamed KG Mobility in 2023.