Seoul - Ailing South Korean carmaker SsangYong Motor plans to cut 2,650 jobs, about one-third of its workforce, the company said Wednesday.

The cash-strapped SUV maker, which is under creditor protection, also announced wage cuts and sales of property and other company assets. China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) holds a 51-per-cent state in the South Korean company.

The lay-offs are part of a package of survival measures which the smallest of South Korea's five carmakers had to come up with to prevent the company's dissolution.

SsangYong's sales dropped by 76 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009 to 6,471 units. It expects operating losses of 142.5 billion won (105.2 million dollars) for the current year, after posting losses of 227.4 billion won the previous year.

In 2008, sales dropped by almost 30 per cent to 92,665 units.

The company said it was to save about 232 billion won annually by cutting 2,646 jobs, amounting to 36 per cent of its workforce. SsangYong's unions already announced resistance to the cuts.

A Seoul court in February accepted SsangYong's bankruptcy protection filing, thereby depriving SAIC of control of the company.

If the measures prove inadequate, the court can remove the protection, which could lead to SsangYong's liquidation. (dpa)