Commuter chaos was averted Tuesday morning as unionized subway workers in Seoul called off a scheduled strike after reaching a last-minute deal with management.

Under the agreement that reached shortly before midnight, Seoul Metro withdrew its plan to lay off over 1,500 workers, or 10 percent of its workforce, as part of restructuring to mitigate mounting financial losses amid the pandemic.

The parties said they agreed to establish a consultation body between the management and labor union to discuss ways to improve workplace safety.

They also saw eye to eye on the need to work toward eliminating extended late-night operations.

Seoul Metro's labor union earlier warned 240,000 members would walk off the job unless the transit authority dropped it restructuring plan, prompting city officials to come up with emergency measures to minimize any inconveniences to the public.