Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Thursday, Sept. 11.
DETROIT — Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung took the high road and avoided making any confrontational remarks about last week's U.S. immigration raid on one of his company's showpiece industrial joint venture projects in the U.S.
He chose his words today very carefully about the incident, which resulted in the detainment of about 350 Korean workers at the Hyundai-LG Energy EV battery plant under construction near Savannah, Ga. The workers departed today on a plane home to South Korea.
"I'm really worried about the incident and really glad they are coming home safely," Chung said at the Automotive News Congress. "Our government and the U.S. government are working closely. These [immigration] regulations are complicated and maybe we can develop a better system."
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Chung and most of his Korean allies have been diplomatic all year in their remarks about U.S. relations — particularly when it comes to trade and tariff negotiations. Chung also appeared with President Donald Trump in March to discuss Hyundai's massive $21 billion in U.S. investment commitments. Hyundai later boosted the commitment to $26 billion.
But the company and its contractors nonetheless face labor compliance challenges in the South. Last week's incident could still spark a more hostile climate toward the company, but if Chung's diplomacy exhibited today remains in place, Hyundai might come through this crisis with improved operating procedures at its U.S. investments.
Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Muñoz earlier said the raid would cost the battery plant project at least a two- or three-month delay in Georgia. He defended the use of Korean workers at the site.
"For the construction phase of the plants, you need to get specialized people. There are a lot of skills and equipment that you cannot find in the United States," Muñoz said in a Reuters story.
For more Automotive News Congress coverage, click here.
In other news, a couple significant management changes emerged at two of the four largest global auto suppliers.
ZF Friedrichshafen said it will replace CEO Holger Klein after he decided to step down early by mutual agreement. ZF said the head of its electric drive division, Mathias Miedreich, will succeed Klein on Sept. 30.
In Toronto, Magna International Inc. said it appointed Timken veteran Philip Fracassa as its new CFO, with longtime executive Patrick McCann stepping down from the post, effective immediately.
That's it for now. If you want to see this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
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