‘I keep thinking badly… Why am I a candidate for hopeful retirement? Repetitive dreams of future anxiety every day. When I think about my children, I want to live, but I can’t stand the pressure of leaving the company and worrying about the anxious future. Try to sleep again. I wish my life happy in my dreams.’
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This is a post registered in a mobile app that only Hana Tour employees can access at the dawn of the 8th. The following comments were posted below this post. ‘Be strong together. Don’t think bad.’ ‘All I ask as a colleague is that you have done nothing wrong. Please acknowledge and cherish yourself a little more.’ ‘I’m not alone. There are over 1000 colleagues.’
No. 1 brand power for 15 consecutive years in the travel agency category, market capitalization of 8573 billion won (as of February 9), and annual sales of 7632 billion won (2019). Hana Tour, the undisputed leader in the travel industry, is trembling with anxiety. Since the 18th of last month, the company has been receiving applications for retirement. HanaTour’s first manpower reduction attempt was greatly shaken by 2,300 employees. The company’s position is that “nothing has been decided yet,” but employees are expressing their feelings on mobile apps such as the Blue House national petition bulletin board or’Blind’. It has been the first year since the coronavirus outbreak, delivering the gloomy New Year’s holiday atmosphere of the number one travel agency in Korea.
Hana Tour performance from 2016 to 2020. Sales in 2020 plummeted to a seventh level of 2019. Graphic = Kim Hyun-seo [email protected]
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![Posts related to Hana Tour posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. The names of the company and the president are hidden, but if you read the contents, it is easy to see that it was posted by an employee of Hana Tour. [홈페이지 캡처]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202102/10/cf35bb6f-8f57-4316-b1a6-eabbe0da80d0.jpg?w=900&ssl=1)
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Posts related to Hana Tour posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. The names of the company and the president are hidden, but if you read the contents, it is easy to see that it was posted by an employee of Hana Tour. [홈페이지 캡처]
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‘It will lead to the hopes of overwhelming the hopes of hundreds of partners, their families, and many guides and local employees overseas praying for the end of the corona and normalization of the travel industry.’
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‘Required to clarify the target and prepare a retirement agreement. It corresponds to the’recommended resignation’ according to popular society. It is a demand survey for retirement applicants, and clarification that there is no set method and scale. However, a number of subjects who have never expressed their intention to retire until unilateral notification.’
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At the end of last month, when the news that Hana Tour started to cut manpower was announced, the above article was posted on the Blue House National Petition Bulletin. As of the 9th, there are three related posts. Although the company name has been deleted, it is easy to see that this company is Hana Tour from expressions such as’No. 1 travel agency’,’Korea’s largest travel agency’ and ‘2300 employees’. The content is similar. It condemns the management’s irresponsibility and informs the unfairness of hopeful retirement. Some voices are worried about living hardships due to unpaid leave for a long period of time and their livelihoods after retirement.
‘I really hate Hana Tour, which packs more than 1,000 employees on their limbs with a ridiculous quick standard after being packaged for worsening profits due to coronavirus.’
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‘My couple got a call saying they were on the list of restructuring. Was it only that much to the company, did I have to accept one-sided notification, but I had to put both of the couple on the list? However, since the couple had no income, they decided to receive consolation money after hard work.’
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The above quote was posted on’Blind’, an app that only Hana Tour employees can access. Dozens of articles were posted on the blinds protesting manpower reduction. It is a text that can only be viewed by internal staff, so it is more expressive than the post of the national petition. In the post, you can see that desired retirement, recommended resignation, and restructuring are mixed and used. This is the confusion that arises from management’s inability to transparently share company policies with employees. Taking the JoongAng Ilbo coverage together, Hana Tour is in the position that the current manpower reduction and restructuring are irrelevant.
Hana Tour “No restructuring”
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![Hana Tour, the number one travel agency in Korea, is suffering from hopeful retirement. The company says it is a process of organizational efficiency, but employees are protesting that they are forced to leave the company. The picture is the headquarters building of Hana Tour. Hana Tour tried to sell its headquarters building and other real estate assets in order to secure funds, but it was reported that it was not easy. [뉴스1]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202102/10/0f21e906-a0df-4227-90a0-ba029e2326f2.jpg?w=900&ssl=1)
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Hana Tour, the number one travel agency in Korea, is suffering from hopeful retirement. The company says it is a process of organizational efficiency, but employees are protesting that they are forced to leave the company. The picture is the headquarters building of Hana Tour. Hana Tour tried to sell its headquarters building and other real estate assets in order to secure funds, but it was reported that it was not easy. [뉴스1]
– To understand the current status of Hana Tour, you need to go back 3 months ago. On November 13, last year, Hana Tour posted a’unpaid leave notice’ on its internal communication network. As the government’s employment maintenance subsidies ended in November, it was announced that they would take unpaid leave for 2,000 out of 2,300 employees for four months from December. The travel industry doubted that Hana Tour had begun to reduce the number of people, but Hana Tour’s position at the time was firm. ‘It means that even if the government subsidy is cut off, it will last for four months. From April 2021, when unpaid leave ends, we will establish a management policy according to the situation.’
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The history of Hana Tour, the largest travel agency in Korea. Graphic = Kim Hyun-seo [email protected]
– January 15, 2021. The management of Hana Tour decided to improve organizational efficiency by division. Organizational efficiency by sector. This is another word for hopeful retirement in progress. The timing of this hopeful retirement is April 1st. The policy of Hana Tour, which has been known to the travel industry since the management’s decision, is roughly as follows.
①7 Select required workers and desired retirement targets for each sector ② Desired retirement targets fill out an agreement through partial interviews ③ Retirees are paid condolence money according to their working period. For 5 years or less, 4 months’ wage, 6 years or more, 10 years or less, 5 months’ wage, and 11 years or more, 6 months’ wage as a consolation fund. ⑤ The total number of retirees is about 1,000.
However, the above policy was not officially confirmed by Hana Tour. This is the result of synthesizing the articles posted on various bulletin boards by Hana Tour staff and the JoongAng Ilbo coverage. The official answer from Hana Tour is as follows. ‘The current manpower reduction has nothing to do with restructuring. Organizational efficiency is in progress by division. Therefore, there cannot be a company-wide setting of standards for retirees and overall size.’
It is far from the employees’ complaining. Hopeful retirement is literally an employee’s desire to retire, because most of the employees testify that they signed the agreement while being determined to be eligible regardless of their intention. Currently, most of the employees are waiting for disposal without knowing exactly whether they are retiring, recommended resignation, or even restructuring.
![Announcement that Hana Tour labor union is recruiting executive members. It is spreading around Hana Tour employee single chat rooms. [관련 대화창 캡처]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202102/10/c08c4c9e-4c57-4d5f-befd-7feae340484d.jpg?w=900&ssl=1)
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Announcement that Hana Tour labor union is recruiting executive members. It is spreading around Hana Tour employee single chat rooms. [관련 대화창 캡처]
– This month, a labor union centered around some employees was also formed. A notice that’Hanatour’s labor union was established on February 3 and is recruiting executive members’ is spreading through employee chat rooms. Since its founding in 1993, Hana Tour has no union. The gaze of the travel industry watching Hana Tour is dark. This is the words of a travel industry executive who asked for anonymity.
“The current situation of Hana Tour clearly shows the dark reality of the travel industry in the worst situation. It is difficult to predict the ripple effect on other travel companies, numerous partners, and even the travel industry.”
Reporters Son Min-ho and Choi Seung-pyo [email protected]
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