[THE INVESTOR] Unionized workers at Kia Motors have approved a wage deal for 2017 in a vote held on Jan. 18, the company said.

Kia and its 28,803-member union reached a tentative wage deal after 27 rounds of negotiations. In the vote, 62 percent of the union accepted the company‘s wage offerings.  

In its offering, the company said it will raise workers’ basic monthly wage by 58,000 won (US$53) and provide bonuses worth 300 percent of basic pay plus 3.2 million won in extra compensation.

For the whole of 2017, Kia sold a total of 2.75 million vehicles, down 7.8 percent from 2.98 million units a year earlier due to slowing demand in major markets.

The maker of the K5 sedan and the Soul boxcar is scheduled to announce its full-year earnings results Jan. 26.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)