Politics

Hyundai’s Georgia Battery Plant Faces Months-Long Delay After Immigration Raid: How the Company Plans to Recover

Hyundai-LG battery plant faces 2-3 month delay after immigration raid. 475 workers, mostly S. Korean, were arrested.

September 11, 2025, 5:29 PM

The exterior of a large Hyundai Motor Manufacturing plant building in Montgomery, Alabama

The Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama facility, where the Elantra and Sonata passenger cars are assembled. By James R. Martin / Shutterstock.com.

Executive Summary

A battery plant co-owned by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution in Georgia faces a minimum two-to-three-month startup delay following a significant immigration raid.

Approximately 475 workers, predominantly South Korean nationals and primarily employed by LG’s suppliers, were arrested in the enforcement action.

Hyundai plans to mitigate the delay by sourcing batteries from other facilities, including a plant co-owned with SK On, to ensure production targets are met.

The Story So Far

The startup delay at the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery plant in Georgia is a direct consequence of a significant U.S. immigration raid targeting hundreds of specialized international workers, primarily South Korean nationals. Such workers are commonly employed during the initial phases of automotive battery plant development due to the unavailability of specific skills and equipment domestically, underscoring the complexities and potential disruptions faced by large-scale industrial projects involving international partnerships.

Why This Matters

The immigration raid at a Hyundai/LG Energy Solution battery plant in Georgia will delay its startup by at least two to three months, revealing the critical dependence of large-scale industrial projects on specialized international labor often unavailable domestically. This incident underscores how heightened immigration enforcement can disrupt major manufacturing initiatives and impact production timelines for crucial facilities.

Who Thinks What?

Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz stated he was surprised by the immigration raid, clarifying that the affected workers were primarily employed by LG’s suppliers, and noted that specialized foreign labor is necessary for the initial construction phase of automotive battery plants due to a lack of domestic availability.

U.S. immigration officials conducted the enforcement action, leading to the arrest of approximately 475 workers, predominantly South Korean nationals, at the facility.

A battery plant co-owned by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution in Georgia is facing a minimum two-to-three-month startup delay following a significant immigration raid last week, Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz announced on Thursday. The operation, described as the largest single-site enforcement in U.S. Department of Homeland Security history, targeted workers at the facility, which was slated to begin production later this year as part of a $7.6 billion factory complex.

Raid Details and Company Reaction

Munoz, speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, stated he was surprised by the news. He immediately investigated if Hyundai employees were involved in the raid.

The company determined that the workers primarily at the center of the enforcement action were employed by suppliers of LG, not Hyundai directly. U.S. immigration officials confirmed that approximately 475 workers, predominantly South Korean nationals, were arrested.

Context of Specialized Labor

Munoz explained that employing such workers is typical during the initial phases of an automotive battery plant’s development. He noted that specialized skills and equipment required for construction are often not readily available domestically.

“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 commented on the sidelines of an automotive conference in Detroit.

Mitigation Strategy

To address the anticipated delay, Hyundai plans to source batteries from other facilities. This includes a plant in Georgia that is co-owned with the Korean battery manufacturer SK On, ensuring that production targets can still be met.

The delay underscores the complexities and potential disruptions faced by large-scale industrial projects involving international partnerships and specialized labor, particularly in the context of heightened immigration enforcement.