USFK Announces Plan to Layoff Workers as Part of Relocation of 2nd Infantry Division

I feel bad for workers being laid off because of the planned relocation of the 2nd Infantry Division, but this is something that has been known for many years and should not be a surprise to anyone:

DONGDUCHEON, South Korea, April 8 (Yonhap) — Many South Koreans working at a major U.S. military base in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, are likely to be laid off within the year due to its planned relocation to the southwestern city of Pyeongtaek, their union said Sunday.

The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division notified the union of its plan to dismiss South Korean workers at Camp Casey in the city last month, according to official sources.

But the U.S. Force Korea (USFK) has yet to disclose the scale or timing of the declared layoffs, the union said. It added that the USFK is reportedly to maintain the total number of workers at U.S. bases across the nation at some 8,000 by September and cut this to some 7,750 in the latter half of the year.

Most of the workers are doing odd jobs like cleaning, with a considerable number of them being the breadwinners of four-member families and receiving just under 40 million won (US$37,418) per annum, the union said.

The USFK has not given any prior account of whom will be fired thus far as South Korean workers belonging to the USFK are not subject to the domestic labor law but come under the jurisdiction of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed between the two nations, the union said.

According to the SOFA, the USFK are only required to give notice 45 days in advance before dismissals, with no explanations needed, it added.  [MSN via reader tip]

You can read more at the link.