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In the time it takes a worker at Toyota to manufacture 100 cars, a worker at Hyundai Motor produces just 43. For every W100 (US$1=W940) a Toyota worker generates in operating profit, a Hyundai worker generates just W22. But wage levels at the two automakers are just the opposite. Last year, workers at Hyundai made an average of W56.98 million, about W2 million more than the W54.96 million in average pay received by Toyota workers.
These figures were gathered by the Federation of Korean Industries, which studied the wage and productivity levels at the world's major automakers. In other words, workers at Hyundai produce fewer cars than workers at Toyota, contribute less to their company's profit, but get paid more. A paradise on Earth, where one produces less, makes fewer profits and gets paid more cannot last forever. Such conditions are bound to end sooner or later.
Last year Toyota achieved a record operating profit of W18.35 trillion. This year the Japanese company overtook General Motors to become the world's largest automaker. Toyota has announced plans to reduce costs next year by W2.51 trillion. Its labor union fully supports that plan. The Japanese automaker has raised wages this year by just W2.4 million on average.
Hyundai Motor posted an operating profit of W1.23 trillion last year. That's just one fifteenth of what Toyota made. Yet Hyundai has decided to give each of its workers a W2 million bonus and 30 shares at no cost this year for resolving this year's wage talks without striking. Hyundai's pay raise this year is reportedly more than twice what Toyota workers received. The world's largest automaker is cutting costs, but Hyundai is feeling no sense of urgency.
That's not all. It takes Hyundai 31.1 hours to produce one automobile. This is far slower than Toyota, which takes just 22.1 hours, while GM, which is said to be in decline, takes 22.1 hours and Ford 23.2 hours. It costs Toyota less than W100 billion to develop a new model, but it reportedly costs Hyundai more than W200 billion. Hyundai lags behind leading carmakers in the development of environmentally friendly automotive technology, including hybrid engines and fuel-cell-powered cars. The very foundations of Korea's automotive industry are being shaken.
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