Hyundai-LG Battery Factory In Georgia Experiences Postponement Due To Immigration Raid

Hyundai Hybrid Palisade 2026. (Doc. Hyundai USA)

JAKARTA The battery factory in Georgia, United States, which is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution, faces a minimum operational delay of two to three months. This follows a massive immigration raid that took place last week, as stated by Hyundai CEO, Jose Munoz.

The raid carried out by the US Department of Homeland Security is the largest single-site law enforcement operation in the department's history. Munoz, in his first public comments since the incident, said he was shocked and immediately investigated whether any Hyundai workers were involved. He found that the workers who were targeted for raids were mostly staff from LG suppliers.

For the factory construction phase, you need specialized people. There is a lot of expertise and equipment that cannot be found in the United States," Munoz said on the sidelines of an automotive conference in Detroit, quoted by Reuters, Friday, September 12.

The plant, which is part of a $7.6 billion plant complex to manufacture battery-powered models, was originally scheduled to start operating later this year.

Sekitar 475 pekerja, termasuk lebih dari 300 warga Korea Selatan, ditangkap oleh petugas imigrasi AS. Razia tersebut dilakukan atas dugaan "legalitas" status visa dan imigasi para pekerja di lokasi tersebut.

A plane has picked up workers from Atlanta to take back to South Korea, after Seoul and Washington agreed to release them. The two countries also plan to discuss establishing a special visa program for workers needed to build similar sites by South Korean companies.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung said he was very worried about the incident but felt relieved that the workers were on their way home.

"Perhaps our government and the US government are working closely together, and visa regulations are very complicated," Chung said at the Detroit conference.

"I hope we can create a better system together."

Munoz added that Hyundai will look for battery supplies from other factories while waiting for the LG plant to operate, including from a factory in Georgia which is a joint venture with Korean battery maker SK On.