[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor said on Oct. 26 that output at its South Korean plants will be increased to compensate for production lost due to recent strikes.

The company’s labor union staged 24 strikes in this year’s wages negotiations, costing the company more than 140,000 units in lost production.

At an investor relations event the company said that overtime will be introduced at its local facilities to boost output. Hyundai Motor officials also said that it will push up domestic sales with the new Grandeur sedan, and that export of its luxury Genesis brand vehicles will begin in earnest and boost earnings in the final quarter of the year. 

In the July-September period, Hyundai Motor’s domestic sales plunged 19.2 percent on-year, while its outbound shipments of locally produced vehicles also tumbled 24.7 percent.

Sales of cars produced overseas, on the other hand, gained 7.8 percent on-year.

The company’s operating profit plunged 29 percent on-year to some 1.07 trillion won over the cited period.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)