Company follows first-half hiring of 50-plus with new open recruitment drive
"About 700 people work at GGM, and 90 percent of them are from Gwangju and South Jeolla Province. Among them, 85 percent are young people in their 20s and 30s."
Gwangju Global Motors (GGM), which manufactures the Casper under a contract production deal, will hold open recruitment for the second half of 2026. As the youth population of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province shrinks by about 10,000 people each year, GGM has been expanding its hiring scale annually, helping create local jobs.
GGM said Tuesday it had posted its second recruitment notice of 2026 for general and technical positions. The hiring, covering about 30 people across technical and general roles, is meant to fill vacancies and add staff ahead of a planned increase in per-hour production, or UPH, next year. Applications close Sept. 21.
The hiring process includes an AI aptitude test, document screening, interviews and health checkups, with new hires expected to join Nov. 16.
Earlier, GGM's first-half open recruitment in January, which hired about 50 people, drew an average competition rate of 34 to 1. The strong interest in GGM's hiring reflects mounting difficulties in the local economy, including a slump in the electronics and construction industries across Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, the closure of a major beverage company's Gwangju factory, and the consolidation of petrochemical plants in Yeosu.
In fact, GGM's hiring numbers grew from 555 in 2021 to 737 this year. If the company hires the planned 30 or so, its workforce will have grown by about 200 over five years, to around 760.
GGM has kept its annual hiring growth in double digits every year, a trend attributed to strong domestic and overseas sales of the Casper and the expansion of electric vehicle and export car production.
As output has increased, so have employees' working hours. The average annual salary for technical staff was just 31 million won ($23,100) in 2021, but by 2025 it had risen sharply to 49 million won, including a 3.6 million won residential support subsidy from Gwangju city.
Of this amount, the maximum profit-sharing contribution reached 5.9 million won, up 15 percent, or 750,000 won, from the previous year.
That is a 96 percent increase, or 2.9 million won, from 3 million won in 2023.
GGM also added a new job-based pay component to its salary structure in January, under which employees receive between 50,000 and 100,000 won extra per month depending on job difficulty and individual performance.
A Gwangju Global Motors official said, "GGM is a company with a social contribution mission, established to create jobs for young people in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province. Through a transparent and fair process, this recruitment will also select local talent in the spirit of mutual growth."
sij@heraldcorp.com
