Hyundai Motor suppliers add 8,235 to their payroll

Hyundai Motor Group said yesterday its first-tier suppliers hired more than 8,235 people in the first half of the year.

The world’s fifth-largest automotive group said about 380 first tier suppliers for Hyundai and Kia hired 3,776 office workers and 4,459 factory workers from January through June, which is 80 percent of the hiring goal of 10,000 for the year.

The figure represents 5.8 percent of the 143,000 jobs at first-tier suppliers of Hyundai and Kia last year.

“As our first-tier suppliers already hired more than 8,000 people in the first half, it is expected that total number of jobs offered by these companies will far exceed the annual goal,” the company said in a release. “Considering how this can affect second- or third-tier suppliers, it will help to create jobs for young people.”

Given that 6.9 jobs related to the auto parts industry were created for 1 billion won ($887,900) spent, according to 2011 data, hiring 8,000 people translates to an investment of 1.2 trillion won, Hyundai said.

Hyundai Motor Group also hired 5,190 people in the first half of the year, up 16.1 percent from a year ago.

Despite a domestic sales slump, and sluggish recovery in the European economy, Hyundai and Kia combined to sell 3.82 million vehicles in the first half of the year, up 7.1 percent from 2012.

Hyundai said that enhanced brand value and increased exports to foreign automakers also led first-tier suppliers to hire.

Hyundai and Kia have assisted their suppliers by hosting trade events for auto parts and offering logistics support, among other things.

As a result, the value of exports from Hyundai and Kia’s first-tier suppliers reached 18.1 trillion won last year, an increase of more than 30 percent from 2011.

Hyundai and Kia also emphasized that its job fairs for suppliers also helped recruitment. The job fairs in Seoul, Gwangju and Daegu in March, featured some 430 companies that work with the automakers and more than 20,000 attended.

“The relationship between automaker and supplier involves creating an ecosystem and having an inseparable relationship in all business activities,” Hyundai said in a release. “We will keep put forward our best efforts to come up with supportive programs for our suppliers to reinforce competitiveness.”

Hyundai Motor shares yesterday edged up 0.91 percent to end at 221,000 won.

By JOO KYUNG-DON [kjoo@joongang.co.kr]