Seoul City Mayor Oh Se-hoon pledged to push ahead with a workforce reduction at Seoul Metro despite the announcement of a general strike by unionized workers.

At a parliamentary audit on Monday, Oh said the plan to lay off two-thousand-212 workers or around 13-point-five percent of the Seoul Metro workforce by 2026 will be implemented as the company seeks to improve its finances amid a substantial deficit.

The mayor promised that the downsizing will transpire without a hitch through flexible and efficient workforce deployment to meet the required increase in safety personnel.

Last Wednesday, unionized workers at the city-run subway operator said they will stage a general strike next month, calling for the withdrawal of management's plan to cut jobs and restructure, which they argue will jeopardize the safety of workers as well as the public and compromise quality of service.

The strike announcement came after talks between management and labor fell through at a final mediation session the previous day.