A battery plant in Georgia co-owned by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution is facing a delay of at least two to three months before starting operations, Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz said, following a large-scale U.S. immigration enforcement action last week.
The plant, part of a $7.6 billion complex intended to supply batteries for Hyundai’s electric vehicles, was at the center of the largest single-site operation in U.S. Department of Homeland Security history. About 475 workers, including more than 300 South Koreans, were arrested over alleged visa and immigration violations, U.S. officials said.
Munoz, speaking at an automotive conference in Detroit, said he was surprised by the news and immediately checked whether Hyundai employees were involved. “We discovered that the workers at the center of the raid were mainly employed by suppliers of LG,” he said.
“For the construction phase of the plants, you need to get specialized people. There are a lot of skills and equipment that you cannot find in the United States,” Munoz added, noting that Hyundai will temporarily source batteries from other facilities, including a Georgia plant co-owned with SK On, until the LG plant becomes operational.
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung also addressed the incident, expressing concern but relief over the return of workers to South Korea. “Maybe our government and the U.S. government, they are working closely, and the visa regulation is very complicated,” Chung said. “And I hope we can make it together a better system.”
The plane carrying the workers is flying them home after Seoul and Washington reached an agreement to discuss a visa program for skilled laborers required at South Korean-operated manufacturing sites in the United States. The raid’s impact extended beyond Hyundai’s joint venture, with other LG-affiliated plants, including those co-owned with General Motors, asking some employees to return home.