[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Ultium Cells said on the 24th (local time) that after negotiating with UAW, it has decided to raise wages for workers in Ohio by an average of 25%.

Ultium Cells is a battery manufacturer (JV· joint venture) created jointly by LG Energy Solutions and US automaker General Motors (GM).

Workers at the Ultium Cells Ohio plant are known to receive $ 20-25 (about 26,000 to 33,000 won) for production workers and $ 25-34.6 for maintenance workers. Under the negotiations, hourly salaries are expected to rise by more than $4. Retroactive increases are also applied to employees who have worked since December 23 last year. Each employee will receive a retroactive increase of $ 3,000 to $ 7,000 (about 4 million to 9.3 million won) depending on the cumulative working hours.

Negotiations have ended with a sharp increase in wages for workers at the Ultium Cells plant in Ohio, but some predict that additional demands will continue.

Ultium Cells workers have joined UAW and may continue to join UAW at factories such as GM and Samsung SDI, which will be built nearby. The Blue Oval SK plant can also face UAW's demand for a wage increase as it currently pays $24 an hour to production workers. 

 

There are concerns that the continued wage hike could worsen the profitability of Korean battery companies operating in the U.S. There are also concerns that the burden of labor costs will snowball if demands for wage hikes are pouring in at factories operated and constructed by SK On and Samsung SDI.

 

 

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