Labour strikes hurt Kia's U.S. sales

Wage disputes in Seoul affect company's exports

SEOUL (REUTERS) — Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, expects its U.S. sales to remain lacklustre in October as labour strikes in South Korea hurt U.S. exports and the U.S. government shutdown curbed demand, an executive said.

The remarks were made by Joo Woo-jeong, a director at Kia Motors, during an earnings conference call on Friday.

Kia Motors sold 416,383 vehicles in the United States from January to September, down 4.3 percent from the previous year, lagging the market's 8 percent gain. Kia's South Korean labour union staged a partial strike in August and September because of wage disputes.

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