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A large-scale immigration enforcement operation at a Hyundai manufacturing plant in the United States is projected to delay the facility’s opening by at least two months, according to company sources.
The federal action has reportedly strained relations between the U.S. and South Korea, the origin of many of those detained. The South Korean President has voiced concerns that the situation could discourage foreign investment in the U.S.
Officials from South Korea have stated that many of the affected workers had been dispatched to the U.S. plant on a temporary basis to assist with the initial setup and operational phases.
Hyundai CEO José Muñoz communicated to U.S. media outlets that the immigration enforcement is expected to cause a “minimum two to three months delay [in opening the factory] because now all these people want to get back”.
The operation, conducted in the state of Georgia, is reported to be the largest of its kind in U.S. history, resulting in the detention of 475 individuals, approximately 300 of whom are South Korean nationals.
U.S. immigration authorities have indicated that the workers lacked the necessary authorization to work in the U.S., while South Korean officials maintain that the practice of Korean firms sending workers to assist in the establishment of overseas factories is commonplace.
The workers are reportedly scheduled to return to South Korea on Friday. Their flight, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed after a proposal from former President Trump suggesting they remain in the U.S. to train American workers, according to reports from South Korean officials. All but one individual declined the offer.
Mr. Muñoz stated that the company is currently exploring options to fill the positions of the workers who intend to return to South Korea.
Hyundai has stated that none of the individuals apprehended at the site last week were directly employed by the company.
LG Energy Solution, which operates a battery plant in conjunction with Hyundai in Georgia, reported that many of its employees who were detained held various types of visas or were participating in a visa waiver program.
During a press conference on Thursday, the President of South Korea suggested that impeding such arrangements would make establishing factories in the U.S. “more difficult… making companies question whether it’s worth doing at all”.
The situation has raised concerns regarding the viability of the trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea reached earlier this year, where former President Trump agreed to forego some of his more stringent tariff threats in exchange for pledges of billions of dollars in investment.
Hyundai alone had committed $26 billion (£19.2 billion), which included a new steel factory in Louisiana, a project previously lauded by Trump, who has made attracting foreign investment to invigorate U.S. manufacturing a top priority.
The location of the enforcement action is part of a larger complex in Georgia that is projected to eventually generate 8,500 jobs and has been hailed as the largest economic development project in the state’s history.
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