SEOUL, South Korea — Thousands of workers at South Korea's Daewoo Motor Co. went on strike today to protest the sale of their troubled company to a foreign automaker.

Five carmakers, including General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., are bidding for Daewoo, South Korea's second-largest carmaker. Fat SpA of Italy and Hyundai Motor — Korea's largest car manufacturer — also have shown interest.

Workers fear that once a foreign investor takes over, they might face big layoffs. They demanded that the government buy their company and run it.

"We oppose a selloff to foreigners!" chanted 3,000 Daewoo Motor workers during a rally in a railway plaza in Pupyong, west of Seoul.

Earlier, they rallied at the factory and marched two miles to the plaza, carrying picket signs and banners.

Daewoo produced 758,500 vehicles in 1999 at its 17 facilities at home and abroad.

The company's Pupyong factory, which usually produces half of all Daewoo cars sold in South Korea, was closed. Another major Daewoo factory was running normally. A smaller bus assembly line on the south coast stopped for two hours as workers held a protest.

Daewoo Motor workers said they will stay off the assembly lines Saturday and Sunday and decide whether to continue the strike Monday.

Management said it has enough inventory to make up for the two-day work stoppage. But it feared that if the strike were prolonged, it would hurt Daewoo's exports and hundreds of subcontractors.

The government and creditor banks are determined to sell the ailing carmaker.

The Hyundai conglomerate said today it would not assist its car-making arm in its bid to purchase Daewoo Motor.

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The Daewoo conglomerate narrowly escaped bankruptcy when its domestic creditors agreed in June to delay repayment of $8.3 billion in debt for six months and extend $3.3 billion in new loans.

Daewoo agreed to sell or spin off 13 units. Its 12 other units, including Daewoo Motor, were placed in a program that calls for creditors to turn debts into equity or delay debt payments.

At the end of June 1999, Daewoo Motor had $18.3 billion in total assets and $13.9 billion in debt.

By taking over Daewoo, American automakers hope to strengthen their presence in Asia.

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