Employees
Young at Heart
Key Achievements
Kia is a multinational corporation promoting variety in all forms, including ethnicity, age, and gender. We encourage our employees to be confident in their ideas and try new things in the workplace. There are a variety of supports available, including equal chances, a diverse range of options, and high-efficiency smartwork.
901 persons
New Employment (2022)
22.2 % Increase
Female ration in management
(Compared to 2021)
22.4 years
Average length of service (2022)
* Coverage: Domestic site
* Female workers in management correspond to executives, senior managers, senior research engineers and senior counsels
Total Workforce
| (Persons) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea | 35,424 | 35,501 | 35,847 |
| Overseas | 16,784 | 16,522 | 17,024 |
| Unionized workers (%) | 84% | 81% | 83% |
| Total | 52,208 | 52,023 | 52,871 |
Global Workforce by Region
| (Persons) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 (Percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea | 35,424 | 35,483 | 35,847 (67.8%) |
| U.S | 3,169 | 3,288 | 3,140 (5.9%) |
| Mexico | 2,362 | 2,243 | 2,159 (4.1%) |
| Europe | 4,861 | 4,881 | 4,779 (9.0%) |
| China | 4,613 | 4,317 | 4,182 (7.9%) |
| Others | 1,779 | 1,793 | 2,764 (5.2%) |
| Total | 52,208 | 52,023 | 52,871 (100%) |
* Others : Asia except for China, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa
Female Workforce
| (Persons) | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female employees | 1,356 | 1,419 | 1,512 |
| Female managers | - | 198 | 242 |
* Coverage : Domestic site / Reported information on the number of women by position from 2021
* Female workers in management correspond to executives, senior managers, senior research engineers and senior counsels
Status of manager (by nationality)
| Classification | Total Number (Percentage) | G3 and above (Percentage) |
|---|---|---|
| Korea | 35,830 (99.953%) | 5,044 (99.723%) |
| U.S | 5 (0.014%) | 5 (0.099%) |
| Canada | 3 (0.008%) | 2 (0.04%) |
| New Zealand | 1 (0.003%) | 1 (0.002%) |
| Australia | 1 (0.003%) | 0 (0%) |
| France | 1 (0.003%) | 0 (0%) |
| Swiss | 1 (0.003%) | 1 (0.002%) |
| Belgium | 1 (0.003%) | 1 (0.002%) |
| Spain | 1 (0.003%) | 1 (0.002%) |
| Portugal | 1 (0.003%) | 1 (0.002%) |
| Japan | 1 (0.003%) | 1 (0.002%) |
| Taiwan | 1 (0.003%) | 1 (0.002%) |
| Total | 35,847 (100%) | 5,058 (100%) |
* Based on 2022 domestic employees/ excluding independent directors, advisors, etc.
Employee Education & Training
Training & professional development programs
Kia is fostering talent who can create new customer-centered values and businesses based on job expertise. We support continuous and voluntary participation according to the content and methods desired by members, including mobility, DT/AI, professional jobs, Biz. Skill education, learning clubs (learning labs), online content development/curation, and external education (including subscription services)
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of trainees | 102,327 | 109,382 | 176,796 |
| The number of times per person | 2.9 | 3.2 | 5.2 |
| Total education investment budget (unit: billion KRW) | 7.84 | 10.54 | 10.96 |
| Education expenses per person (unit: thousand KRW) | 224 | 305 | 320 |
| Training hours per person | 27 | 33 | 36 |
- The number of times per person = total number of trainees / number of Kia employees(domestic)
- Education expenses per person = total education investment budget / number of Kia employees(domestic)
- Training hours per person = total training hours / number of Kia employees(domestic)
Employee Training Programs
Kia is fostering “Consilience-type" talents who can create new customer-centered values and businesses based on its members' job expertise. And we operate our own job academy, learning lab, regular learning programs, and on-boarding courses, and support external training program is provided.
- Job Academy Program in conjunction with Kia’s Plan S Strategic Direction
- Mobility Academy, DT/AI Academy, EV Class, Professional Job Academy, etc. - Regular learning and outside education centered on learners to promote business trend sensing and field application/attempt
- Learning Lab, Insight Live, Issue Click, Contents Curation, External Training Program, Subscription Services, etc. - 3. Onboarding process for new employees step by step to understand Kia’s value chain and strengthen mobility expertise
- Orientation, Understanding Kia’s Value Chain, Understanding Mobility, Completion Ceremony
| Curriculum | Number of times | Number of employees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobility Academy | 22 | 64 | 1,405 |
| DT/AI Academy | 10 | 13 | 276 |
| EV Class | 3 | 340 | 7,891 |
Leadership Training Programs
We strive to practice/lead the values and behaviors of hunger and foster them as customer-centered entrepreneurial leaders who can contribute to customer-centered organizational innovation and future sustainable growth.
- Role Enhancement Program: Programs that help you successfully fulfill your leadership role
- New Team Leader Onboarding, Performance Management and Inspiring Coaching Training, New Director Course, New Field Manager Course, etc. - Business Insight Programs: Programs that provide learning and business insights related to the latest business trends and internal and external business environments
- Forum Kia, AI and Mobility Executive Courses, Customer Value Creation Courses, Business Capacity Enhancement Programs, etc. - Diagnostic-based leadership programs: programs that support leadership improvement in conjunction with diagnostic tools and outcomes
- Understanding and utilization of leadership diagnostics, 1:1 custom coaching, Intrapreneurship, etc.
Reinforcing Sales and Service Competence
Kia operates a variety of training programs to strengthen sales/service capabilities, representatively as follows.
- Sales training program: A program that supports job competency enhancement and knowledge of new car functions
- Strives to enhance customer satisfaction, strengthening product knowledge, and sales skills through the implementation of training programs for global dealers
※ The Performance Index (PI), which evaluates profitability of dealers increased by more than 3%p compared to the previous year (2021) - Service skill training program: Service skill improvement and in-depth practice training for new technology
- Improvement of service skills through the implementation of training programs such as a training for center technicians
※ Selected as an excellent call center (19 consecutive years), 1st place in the automotive after-sales service category (9 consecutive years)
Employee Performance Evaluation System
Kia implements an objective and fair performance evaluation system, with a focus on employee performance. This includes KPI evaluations based on management by objectives (MBO), 360° multi-faceted evaluations and also Team performance based evaluation on certain agendas (security, idea competition etc).
Employment
To lead the future mobility industry, Kia is continuously hiring talented people in new technologies and businesses. In addition, by operating the "Veteran" system for retired employees with highly skilled techniques and experience, the company supports them so that they continue to utilize their expertise and contribute to industrial development after retirement.
Kia operates a reemployment program and a job change support program according to the life cycle of employees who wants to change jobs for career change. In addition to the career change outside the organization, Kia also operates a system for changing jobs through retraining course, if an employee wants to change to a new career(e.g. a job change within the organization), or needs to change his/her duties due to business changes.
Recruitment Status (Domestic)
(Unit : Persons)
| Classification | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Number of Newly Hired Employees | 300 | 600 | 901 | |
| By age | 20-29 years old | 168 | 374 | 545 |
| 30-49 years old | 109 | 210 | 305 | |
| over 50 years old | 23 | 16 | 51 | |
| Gender | Male | 247 | 491 | 743 |
| Female | 53 | 109 | 158 | |
| By region | Headquarters | 121 | 240 | 270 |
| Gwangmyeong | 24 | 71 | 160 | |
| Hwaseong | 43 | 118 | 228 | |
| Gwangju | 27 | 53 | 127 | |
| Namyang Research Lab | 3 | 5 | 10 | |
| Etc. | 82 | 113 | 106 | |
| By nationality* | Korea | 297 | 595 | 900 |
| USA | 1 | 2 | - | |
| China | - | - | - | |
| India | - | - | - | |
| Etc. | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Internal hires | 610 (67.0%) | 607 (50.3%) | 435 (37.6%) | |
* Recruitment status by nationality is counted from 2021
Status of Labor Union Membership (Domestic)
(Unit : Persons)
| Classification | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total member | 1,199 | 1,163 | 1,200 |
| Rate of membership (%) | 3.59% | 3.53% | 3.51% |
Retirement/turnover status (Domestic)
(Unit : Persons)
| Classification | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| By age | 20s | 49 | 38 | 84 |
| 30s | 49 | 64 | 84 | |
| 40s | 54 | 41 | 35 | |
| 50s | 832 | 66 | 172 | |
| 60s or more | 28 | 838 | 1,142 | |
| Gender | Male | 974 | 1,005 | 1,461 |
| Female | 38 | 42 | 56 | |
| Total turnover | 1,012 | 1,047 | 1,517 | |
| Total turnover* (%) | 2.9 | 3 | 4.2 | |
| Voluntary turnover | 123 | 107 | 270 | |
| Voluntary turnover** (%) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | |
* Total turnover rate (%) = Number of employees who retired during the reporting period / (Number of employees at the beginning of the reporting period + Number of employees at the end of the reporting period / 2)
** Voluntary turnover rate is limited to voluntary retirees, excluding full-age retirement
Welfare
Legally mandated fringe benefits
Health insurance, industrial insurance, national pension, employment insurance
Vehicles/transportation
Car purchasing/repair, commute bus, fuel, and transportation expenses etc.
Safety/health/hygiene
Medical services, group accident insurance, physical checkups, health clinics, etc.
Living
Meals/snacks, expenses/vacations for family events, apartments/dorms, personal pension plans, Labor-Management Joint Fund etc.
Education
School and education expenses for employee's children and in-house daycare centers, etc.
Culture / Career-development
Vacation allowance, credits, long-service/retirement awards (travel), sports day, hotels and resorts for summer vacation, etc.
Support for retirees
Veterans program, etc.
Welfare expenditure
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenditure (KRW 100 mil) |
6,191 | 6,217 | 6,974 |
| Per-person expenditure (KRW mil) |
18 | 18 | 21 |
Parental Leave
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 67 | 67 | 93 |
| Female | 23 | 28 | 35 |
| Return | 79 | 82 | 118 |
* Methodology for counting parental leave: Based on domestic employees, Those who have more than 1 day of parental leave in the year
* Methodology for counting the return: Number of people who are eligible to return to parental leave for the year
Welfare System/Program Operation Status at Kia
Working System
| Classification | Details |
|---|---|
| Flexible work hours | Able to work voluntarily within 52 hours per week (average) of working hours per month, Core working hours are 5 hours from Monday to Thursday and 4 hours on Friday |
| Remote working | Implementation of remote work system based on autonomy and responsibility (Varies by place of work and job group) |
| Part-time working | Operate only for some jobs (driving manager 7 hours/day, service manual multilingual translation 4 hours/day) |
| Internet Phone / Text Service | Free use of Internet calls and text messages (200 calls/month) through the ERP system that can be installed on personal mobile devices |
| Commuter Bus | For employee commuting convenience, commuter buses are operated at all workplaces (operating more than 4 times depending on time, on more than 200 routes in total) |
| Moving Expenses | In the event of a change of residence due to a new position, moving expenses are supported according to the distance (transportation expenses, logistics expenses, etc.) |
| Base office | Trial operation of 5 major locations in the metropolitan area and 6 shared office locations in the Seoul area |
| Operation of in-house laundry / barber shop/clinic | Operating free laundry for engineers in Korea Plants to wash working clothes / in-house clinic for employee health care /in-house barber shop at affordable prices |
Child birth/Child care support
(Welfare services for children include adoptees and stepchildren)
| Classification | Details |
|---|---|
| Parental leave (women/men) | Up to 2 years of parental leave per child (under 8 years old, under second grade of elementary schools) |
| Maternity leave | 90 days of maternity leave for pregnant women before and after childbirth (120 days for multiple fetuses) / Maternity leave for male workers is 10 days of paid leave |
| Infertility treatment support | Provide support with 3 days of paid leave for counseling and procedures related to infertility |
| Shortened work hours during childcare periods | Up to 2 years of reduced working hours during childcare period (5 to 25 hours per week) for each child (under 8 years old, under second grade of elementary schools) |
| Work daycare center / Consigned childcare facility | Autoland Gwangmyeong/Hwaseong/Gwangju and Yangjae Headquarters operate a total of 4 workplace daycare centers |
| Education support for children with disability | Support for the use of special district educational facilities for children with disabilities (KRW 6 million per person/year) |
| Family leave | Up to 90 days of a year can be used to care for the family member due to illness, accident or old age |
Vacation support
| Classification | Details |
|---|---|
| Summer vacation | 5 days of paid leave per year |
| Pro dream vacation | 5 days of personal annual leave can be used with additional 10 days of paid leave for senior managers on the promotion |
| Long-term employment award | 5 days of paid leave available for the 21st year only for employees who have served 20 years of service |
| Vacation over retirement | 30 days of paid leave that can be used for the annual leave of absence is provided in the case of retirement after 20 years of service |
| Four seasons resort operation | Offers member-price accommodation benefits for a total of 33 resorts |
Healthcare
| Classification | Details |
|---|---|
| Medical insurance | National health insurance / Group accident insurance (injury, hospitalization, death, cancer) / Support for hospital expenses for employees, spouses and children (KRW 40 million/person) |
| Mental care | Provide online psychological tests and offline psychological counseling services for employees, their spouses, and children (12 times a year / Designate a counseling center near their residence in connection with the national psychological counseling center) |
| Healthy snacks | Providing meal options such as healthy salads, vegetarian meals, and take-out menus |
| Regular medical examinations | Provision of mandatory legal general examination once a year for all employees and additional examination and recognition of attendance, additional check-ups for employees over 40 years of age (electrocardiogram, thyroid ultrasound, blood cancer test, etc.) |
| General examination | Every 10 years of tenure (every 3 years for those over 40), 50% of the support is provided by the company to one member of the employee’s family every year |
| Fitness facility | Operating Autoland Gwangju/Gwangmyeong/Hwaseong and Yangjae Headquarters fitness center |
Life/Convenience support
| Classification | Details |
|---|---|
| Congratulatory and condolatory benefits | Congratulatory and condolences leave and congratulations and condolences support, Support for mourners and condolences items (garlands, etc.) |
| Child scholarships | Secondary/High School/University tuition, early childhood education expenses, and special education expenses |
| Housing support fund | Support for up to KRW 60 million in housing funds (purchase/jeonse*) by length of service *lump-sum housing lease |
| Staff apartment | Operates 482 households near Autoland Gwangmyeong and 536 households near Autoland Hwaseong |
| Appointment and moving | Support for household items and family relocation expenses for employees who move out over a certain distance |
| Vehicle discount | Vehicle discount support according to years of service |
| Points | Payment of welfare points and self-development points and operation of employee shopping malls |
| Partnership discounts | Affiliate discounts for hotel/resort accommodation and shopping through a year-round |
Culture support
| Classification | Details |
|---|---|
| Clubs | Support for monthly club activity expenses |
Others
| Classification | Details |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed salary in case of sick leave | Partial compensation for sick leave or sick leave due to physical or mental disability or disease (varies by period) In case of industrial accidental leave due to work-related injuries or diseases, compensation is paid in addition to the amount paid by the Korea Labor Welfare Corporation (30% of normal wages) |
Employee wage (2022)
(Unit: KRW million)
| Gender category | Average wage |
|---|---|
| Male | 113 |
| Female | 89 |
| All employees | 112 |
* Based on domestic employees