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| Hyundai Motor production workers assemble the IONIQ 5 at the company's Ulsan plant. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group |
By Kim Hyun-bin
A worker in his 30s is seeking to quit his high-paying semiconductor engineering job at a major conglomerate to become a production line worker at Hyundai Motor to ease office stress.
"I don't want to go to work, have meetings and be stressed out all the time. I have a master's degree in engineering from a SKY (Seoul National, Korea, Yonsei) university and I am thinking about applying," the employee posted on Blind, an anonymous messaging app used by Korean workers to air their grievances.
Prospective applicants flocked to Blind with questions and showing interest in the job opening.
"If you work overtime on weekends, you can make 120 million won ($91,500) a year. This is the king of all production jobs," one person wrote. "I think a lot of public servants will apply," another wrote, adding, "Please give me advice on starting salaries, work intensity and welfare benefits."
Industry officials believe over 100,000 people will apply for the 400 assembly-line positions being offered this year.
Viewing factory work as a blue-collar job is a thing of the past with thousands of qualified applicants rushing to apply for the job openings at Hyundai Motor. A surge in the number of applicants even caused delays in accessing the automaker's website due to heavy traffic Thursday morning after the announcement was made.
Hyundai Motor started receiving applications for factory jobs, Thursday, and plans to hire 700 workers by 2024, starting with 400 this year. The automaker stopped hiring new factory workers in 2013, largely due to the automation of production plants. But it started to hire new workers as part of an agreement between management and labor struck last year.
Hyundai Motor has become popular among young job seekers due to its benefits and high salary. The automaker's factory workers make an average annual salary of 96 million won with a guaranteed retirement age of 60 and the ability to work for one more year as a contract worker after retiring.
Anyone with at least a high school diploma can apply. Applications will be accepted on the Hyundai Motor recruitment website from March 2 through March 12.
Two rounds of interviews will be conducted, with the first one from April to early June and the second from May to the end of June. The final candidates will be announced in July and will undergo job training during September to October.
As this is the first time in 10 years that Hyundai Motor is hiring new factory workers, we plan to proceed using fair and transparent procedures," a Hyundai Motor official said.
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