ICE Raids Will Delay Construction At Georgia Battery Plant By 2-3 Months At Minimum, Perhaps Until Mid-2026
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During an interview on Thursday, Hyundai’s CEO José Muñoz announced the site will be delayed by at least a few months following the raid. “This is going to give us minimum two to three months delay, because now all these people want to get back,” he said. Hyundai needs to fill the positions, and as Muñoz explained, “for the most part, those people are not in the US.”
The sudden announcement comes after federal agents raided the battery plant site on September 4, detaining 475 workers. Hyundai co-owns the plant with LG Energy Solutions, which is set to supply batteries to its nearby production site, the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA).
Although a charter plane is waiting in Atlanta to fly the workers home, the raid is already sparking backlash. South Korean ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong warned that “The economic activities of our companies investing in the US and the rights and interests of our nationals must not be unfairly violated.”
The raid occurred just days after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with President Trump at the White House, pledging to invest another $150 billion in the US, including a new EV battery plant. However, after videos and images showed the detained workers shackled before being transferred onto buses, the operation is fueling outrage among South Koreans and will likely have bigger economic implications. Hyundai and LG’s battery plant is just one of 20 sites under construction in the US by a South Korean company. Several LG Energy Solutions’ construction sites have already been disrupted, while others fear similar crackdowns may follow.
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https://electrek.co/2025/09/11/hyundai-now-delaying-ev-battery-plant-raided-by-ice/
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Officials said the raid led to construction at the site being halted. In information released Friday, construction is not planned to resume for the next several months. According to a spokesperson, construction at the plant will remain on hold until the first half of 2026.
"The U.S. is an extremely important market for us – we’ve invested more than $25 billion in North American manufacturing and expect to create about 14,000 jobs here by 2027," according to a statement released by LG Energy Solution "In the mid-term, we plan to locate half of our total global battery cell-making capacity here.
LG Energy Solution remains committed to our projects in the U.S. and will continue to navigate the circumstances with the aim to continue necessary investments and business. Moving forward, LG Energy Solution will continue to cooperate with the Korean and U.S. governments on the visa process."
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https://www.wjcl.com/article/hyundai-ice-georgia-construction-paused/66064634
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