SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Ssangyong Motor Co. said Monday its auto sales plunged 98.4 percent last month, mainly due to a massive strike by its fired workers that lasted for months.

    S. Korea's carmaker Ssangyong, which has been under bankruptcy protection since February, said it sold a mere 71 units last month, the company said in a statement.

    Hundreds of fired workers have occupied the company's sole assembly plant in Pyeongtaek since May 22 to protest the layoffs.

    The mass layoffs were part of a restructuring plan ordered by the local court in February when Ssangyong entered bankruptcy protection under the condition that it will conduct a massive layoff.

    Against the strike, the management held three-day talks with the union, which broke off due to differences over how many fired workers would be given their jobs back.

    Ssangyong, a former affiliate of China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., has lost its former parent company's management control after it entered bankruptcy protection.

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