A 47-year-old General Motors Korea factory worker was found dead in what police suspect was a suicide, Reuters reported Sunday.
Union officials and police confirmed the man’s death after he was found in his home around 4:30 p.m. this past Saturday. Police are still investigating the incident and have not ruled suicide the official cause of death. The worker had recently applied for GM Korea’s redundancy program after the automaker announced it will shut down the Gunsan plant.
If police officially rule the worker’s death as a suicide, it would be the first suicide related to GM’s Gunsan plant closure.
GM will close the plant by May 2018 and initiated the voluntary redundancy program earlier this month. Roughly 15 percent of GM Korea’s workforce opted for the buyout packages, which included a lump sum three times the worker’s salary, money for their children’s college tuition and $9,000 towards the purchase of a new car.
The automaker has also put forth a $2.8 billion investment plan for the next 10 years, but the plan will include 5,000 layoffs. In the long-term, the investment may create another 1,100 jobs, however.
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