Homeplus scraps transfer reassignment plan; union says 20,000 workers' livelihoods are at risk

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[The Financial News] As Homeplus has temporarily suspended operations at 37 stores due to financial difficulties, the company reversed its plan to reassign employees from the affected locations just one day later. The union strongly protested, calling it "a nationwide fraud that deceived the public and employees."
On the 12th, the Homeplus Branch of the Mart Industry Labor Union issued a statement, saying, "Until the day before the closure, they reassured employees by promising reassignment, but as soon as the shutdown began, they notified them of forced leave." It added, "This is the height of impulsive and incompetent management, with the livelihoods of 20,000 workers at stake."
Earlier, on the 8th, Homeplus said it would temporarily halt operations at 37 of its 104 stores, which had lower profitability, until July 3. At the time, the company informed employees in an official notice that it would pay closure allowances equal to 70% of average wages and reassign those who wanted to keep working to other stores that remained open. However, in an additional notice issued on the 11th, shortly after the shutdown took effect, the company said, "Sales at stores that remain open have also fallen by more than 70% from a year earlier," and added, "Unless product deliveries return to normal, it will be difficult to accommodate additional staff, so we have decided not to implement reassignment during the closure period."
The union says workers are facing serious financial hardship. It stated, "Most employees earn only around minimum wage, so if 70% of closure pay is applied, their monthly take-home pay would be only about 1.4 million won." It added, "With reassignment also withdrawn, there is effectively no longer any livelihood support measure."
The union also called for an exception to the current work rules' ban on holding multiple jobs. It argued that institutional flexibility should be introduced so workers can maintain their livelihoods through other jobs during the closure period.
The union blamed the crisis on MBK Partners, the largest shareholder. It said, "The cause of Homeplus' collapse is not frontline workers, but MBK's irresponsible management, which pursued only capital gains," and urged the government to immediately come up with measures to normalize operations, including the appointment of a third-party administrator.
In its statement, the union demanded a formal apology from MBK and Homeplus management, implementation of the promised reassignment plan, guarantees that forced-leave employees may take second jobs, and government-level measures to restore normal operations.
clean@fnnews.com Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter