Hyundai CEO says he learned about ICE raid on Georgia plant from the news

The ICE raid on Hyundai’s battery plant in Georgia was the largest single-site operation in the department’s history – but the automaker’s CEO said he only learned about it from the news.

José Muñoz, who took the helm at the South Korean company in January, said he was working out of his California office when officials rounded up 475 workers at the Hyundai-LG factory on Sept. 4.

“I could not believe what I saw because I would’ve known normally before the news,” he told CNN Thursday during a media roundtable.

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He added that he likely wasn’t notified immediately because the EV battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, is operated by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution.

More than 300 South Korean workers were detained by ICE during the raid and deported back to South Korea last week via a charter plane.

Video footage released by US authorities showed some workers being shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and wrists – which has put strain on the country’s relationship with South Korea.

Muñoz said he has been in touch with the Trump administration since the massive deportation effort.

“I think both governments, South Korea and the US are working activity to try to ensure that situation like this don’t happen again,” he told reporters.

However, when asked if he was worried about the possibility of future raids, he added: “Nobody can say they are exempt (from) everything.”

Muñoz opened the company’s first US investor conference in New York City on Thursday with a message to those detained workers and their families.

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“I want to express our sincere empathy for the workers from our supplier partner companies who were detained. We understand the stress and hardship this has caused for them and their families,” he said.

He added that Hyundai has funneled billions of dollars into US infrastructure, including the EV battery plant in Georgia – one of the largest economic development projects in the state’s history.

Muñoz said earlier this month that the battery plant, which is still under construction, will face a two to three month startup delay as a result of the ICE raid.

During the investor conference Thursday, Hyundai confirmed that it is still moving forward with plans to expand the factory. 

It will spend $2.7 billion to increase production capacity at the Ellabell site by 200,00 over the next three years, to a total of 500,000 vehicles annually, the company said.

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But Hyundai has had to move workers from other plants to the Georgia site to make up for the specialized workers flown back to South Korea after the raid, Muñoz said.

“What I’ve learned in the past couple of days and weeks is that activities in this particular battery factory that require a very specific expertise that is not in the country,” Muñoz added.

He said that foreign specialized workers should be able to receive a special visa that allows them to enter and exit the US “five or six or six, seven times.” 

“Once the factory is finished, they don’t come back again,” he continued.

While such visas are offered to workers from nations like Canada, Mexico, Singapore and Chile, this option is not available in South Korea.