Hyundai Motor hires female production workers, first ever via open recruitment

Hyundai Motor employees manufacture Ioniq 5 at the carmaker's plant in Ulsan [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Six female workers were hired for Hyundai Motor’s production line this year, the first time the Korean automaker has employed women in its open recruitment for the manufacturing line.

Of the 200 employees hired, six, or 3 percent, were women, according to the Korean Metal Workers' Union.

"The latest recruitment drive opened the door to female workers for the first time since the company was founded," the union's female committee said in a statement Monday. "We hope more females will be on future lists."

Hyundai Motor on Monday announced that 200 applicants passed the employment exam for the carmaker's production line. The company hired employees for its production line in March for the first time in 10 years since 2013. It came as the automaker agreed to cater to its labor union's demand to recruit 700 more workers by next year.

It is the first time Hyundai hired a female worker via its open recruitment process. There are some 500 female employees, or 2 percent of the total, currently working at Hyundai's production line, but none of them were hired through an open hiring system.

Hyundai Motor has been a popular company for production workers thanks to its high salary and well-known employee benefits, including discounts on cars as well as financial support for medical fees and children’s tuition.

The average annual salary for Hyundai Motor’s production line workers was 96 million won ($73,000) in 2021. It could have tipped the 100-million-won mark last year.

Around 180,000 candidates are reported to have applied for the job, leading to the website crashing. Another 200 successful applicants will be announced later this year, and an additional 300 people will be hired next year.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]