Ssangyong Motor announced last month that it didn’t have sufficient funds to pay its employees and barely had enough cash on hand to keep its operations up and running, but the Korean automaker will be receiving a life raft from parent company Shanghai Automotive Industry.
China’s SAIC Motor Corp. previously stated that it would not help Ssangyong because of statements made by Ssangyong’s in-house union, but SAIC’s 51.33 percent stake in the small automaker was ultimately too much to overlook.
“We hope that this project will help Ssangyong ease some of the short-term pressure on its cash flow,” SAIC said in a statement.
According to Gasgoo, SAIC has already cut a check to Ssangyong for $19.9 million, but that might not even be enough to keep Ssangyong afloat. Inside sources say that Ssangyong is already $21.7 million behind on employee payments.
Ssangyong is currently having a tough time generating any cash flow from its new car sales, with sales down more than 52 percent on the year.
