After being raided by the Trump administration, Hyundai's U.S. battery plant construction was delayed by several months.

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After last week’s surprise inspection by the Trump administration related to illegal immigration, South Korean auto giant Hyundai has confirmed that construction at its battery plant in the US will have to be delayed by several months.

On Thursday, the 11th (US Eastern Time), Hyundai Motor CEO José Muñoz said that after a raid by US immigration authorities, construction of Hyundai’s joint venture battery plant in Georgia, USA, would be delayed by at least two to three months. This delay highlights the direct impact of the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration enforcement actions on South Korean companies’ investment projects in the US.

According to CCTV News, on Thursday the 4th (local time) last week, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies conducted a surprise raid at the construction site of the Hyundai and LG Energy Solution joint battery factory in Bryan County, Georgia, USA.

The raid was the largest single-site enforcement action in the history of the US Department of Homeland Security’s investigative agency. Federal agents arrested 475 workers, most of whom were Korean employees. The raid has resulted in serious labor shortages for Hyundai and other South Korean companies.

On Thursday, US Secretary of Commerce Luttner said that Trump plans to provide short-term visas for foreign technical workers needed to build new factories. Luttner stated: "I think he (Trump) will make agreements with different countries. When they want to carry out large-scale construction here, he will find ways to provide appropriate work visas for their workers."

Earlier this week, Trump warned multinational companies on social media, saying that investment is welcome but US immigration laws must be observed, while pledging to provide legal pathways to America for "smart talent with outstanding technical skills."

Hyundai CEO Says Still Committed to US Market

In a Thursday interview, Muñoz explained the reason for the delay: "This will cause us a delay of at least two or three months, because now all these people want to come back. Then you need to see how to fill these positions. And, to a large extent, these people are not in the U.S."

Muñoz said that Hyundai remains committed to the U.S. market. He said: "This is a very unfortunate incident, but the strategic importance of the U.S. market to our company will not change. Over the past several years, we have been investing heavily, and will continue to do so."

Due to the construction delay of the new plant, Hyundai will continue to purchase batteries from the SK On plant located in Commerce, Georgia. LG Energy Solution said in a statement, "We are committed to our projects in the US and will continue to respond to the current situation, with the goal of continuing necessary investments and business activities."

It is reported that a charter flight to repatriate the workers departed from the US on Thursday and is expected to arrive in Korea on Friday. The economic impact of this raid may just be beginning to emerge.

Large-Scale Enforcement Raid Shakes Industry

On September 4, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies conducted a surprise raid at the construction site of the Hyundai and LG Energy Solution joint battery factory in Bryan County, Georgia. Steven Schrank, head of the Homeland Security Investigations in Atlanta, emphasized that this was the largest single-location enforcement action in the agency’s history.

Related footage shows Korean workers in yellow vests having their ankles, wrists, and waists cuffed during the raid, with helicopters and armored vehicles deployed on site. The arrested individuals were suspected of illegally crossing the border, entering via visa waiver programs that prohibit work, or overstaying their visas.

The South Korean government expressed "concern and regret" over the action; Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-yong stated that the economic activities of companies investing in the US and the rights and interests of Korean citizens should not be unjustly infringed by the US enforcement process.

Hundreds of Billions in Investment Plans Impacted

This incident has put South Korea’s commitments to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States to the test. Hyundai recently pledged to increase its investment in the US to $26 billion, an increase of $5 billion from the previous $21 billion. The investment plan includes $9 billion to ramp up US auto production capacity, and $12 billion for other projects.

The Hyundai plant in Ellabell is the largest manufacturing project in Georgia’s history, with a total investment of $7.6 billion and a plan to employ 8,500 people by 2031. The state has provided Hyundai with a $2 billion incentive package.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun said at a company event on Thursday: "I am really worried about that incident, and we're glad they returned home safely. Our government and the US government are working closely together; the visa regulations are very complicated. I hope we can jointly build a better system."

Visa Dilemma Becomes Investment Obstacle

Wallstreetcn cited reports this week stating that several executives and industry organization figures in Seoul admitted that, in order to advance their multi-billion-dollar advanced manufacturing projects in the US, Korean companies had commonly used improper visas to dispatch workers. Since short-term work visas take weeks to obtain, some Korean companies have used B-1 business visas or the ESTA visa waiver program to send employees to the US.

Although the US and South Korea signed a free trade agreement in 2012, unlike other US FTA partners, South Korea has not received a targeted work visa program. According to the aforementioned report, a senior South Korean official said that Korea has raised this issue many times in the past 20 years, but every US administration has turned them down.

Chang Sang-sik, head of research at the Korea International Trade Association, pointed out: "The US government is two-faced. It asks Korea to invest more in the US, while treating Korean workers as criminals, even though it knows full well these projects can’t go forward without them."

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