Doosan Heavy to put about 400 employees under paid suspension amid slump

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- Doosan Heavy & Construction Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Monday that it will put about 400 employees under paid suspension as part of its self-rescue efforts amid a prolonged slump.

The suspension is part of the company's efforts to tide over its liquidity crunch. The company drew up a 3 trillion-won (US$2.4 billion) self-rescue plan last month.

Workers subject to the paid suspension from this Thursday through the end of the year will be paid 70 percent of their monthly salary, it said.

The company is also seeking to sell its shares and assets to get back on track.

Of about 6,000 employees, only 100 workers applied for a voluntary retirement program Friday. Earlier, 650 employees left the company.

Doosan Heavy posted a net loss of 371.4 billion won in the January-March period due to one-off costs, shifting from a net profit of 52.8 billion won a year earlier.

Doosan Heavy's net losses have deepened in recent years, as South Korea has pushed to boost the supply of power from clean and renewable energy sources while weaning the country off nuclear and coal-fired plants.

Doosan Heavy posted accumulated net losses worth 2.68 trillion won from 2014 through 2019.

Doosan Heavy said orders worth about 10 trillion won have dried up due to the cancellation of nuclear and coal-fired plant projects in South Korea.

South Korea, which decommissioned two nuclear power plants in 2017 and 2019, is set to retire 10 of the total 24 reactors here by the end of 2030.

Doosan Heavy has recently opened two 400 billion-won credit lines with the state-run Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea, respectively, in the latest attempt to normalize the company.
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