Hyundai Motor Co CEO Jose Munoz said the South Korean automaker will press ahead with new technology development and its U.S. expansion plans despite a raid on its Georgia battery plant over suspicions of using undocumented workers. Munoz said,"We continue to believe the electrification trend will continue,""The market is giving us some good hope that this is the right direction to go."
When it comes to tariffs,MunozThe need to radically restructure supply chains by investing in local markets and improving operations was highlighted.
“You have to increase productivity,” he said, noting that the way to do that is by leveraging artificial intelligence and robotics.
South Korea's top automaker is also moving forward with its U.S. expansion plans. Previously, the battery factory jointly built by Hyundai Motor and LG New Energy in Georgia was raided in September and an apology was received. During the raid, federal agents detained 475 workers, mostly Koreans.
“I received an apology call from the White House,” he told the forum. The governor of Georgia "also called me and said 'I don't know what's going on, this is outside of state jurisdiction.'"
"So clearly someone made a phone call to make it look like there were illegal immigrants. But that was never the case," Munoz said, adding that the raid did not change Hyundai's U.S. investment plans but that the company would adjust its supply chain.
Munoz has said the raid will delay factory construction by at least two to three months due to labor shortages, posing a more severe challenge to Hyundai Motor, which has already been hit hard by high U.S. tariffs on South Korean goods as trade negotiations lasted for months.
Hyundai Motor said the tariffs cost it about 1.8 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in the third quarter. The company lowered its profit forecast for 2025 while raising its overall revenue forecast as it ramps up investments in the United States to cushion the impact of tariffs.
The raid exposed the risks to the billions of dollars South Korea has invested in U.S. clean energy plans. The industry-shaking raid, which saw widely circulated images of detainees being handcuffed at their wrists, waists and ankles, also intensified diplomatic friction between South Korea and the United States.
Munoz called the incident a "bad surprise" but it in no way diminishes Hyundai's commitment to investing in the U.S., adding that the automaker would double down on its plans.
“We can’t just because something happened that was clearly unexpected — and even received an apology from the president of the United States — that that’s going to change our plans,” he said.
"We are doubling down. We want to maintain our investment in the United States. We think in the medium to long term things will get better. But obviously we need to make a lot of adjustments to the supply chain and the products that we are going to produce."