Employees Return from Paid Leave After Detainment
Battery Joint Venture Plant Restarts but
Local Economic Recovery Remains Unseen
Struggles Continue for Restaurants, Hotels, and Retailers, The U.S. Georgia battery plant construction site where a large-scale Korean detainment incident occurred last month. Yonhap News,
In Georgia, USA, where a large-scale detainment of Koreans by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took place last month, LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group’s battery joint venture project is resuming, but the ripple effects are still ongoing. The local economy has been directly hit by the incident, and signs of recovery are hard to find.
According to major foreign media and related industries as of the 14th, employees of LG Energy Solution and its partners, who were detained by U.S. immigration authorities and later released, returned to work on the 13th after a month of paid leave. As the company announced plans to gradually resume business trips focusing on essential personnel after the Chuseok holidays on the 2nd, they have already begun sending essential personnel to the site to normalize plant construction. It is also understood that they plan to gradually increase the number of business trips by assessing the willingness of those who have returned to their duties.
Partners such as LG CNS and Hyundai Engineering are also expected to resume business trips according to their own regulations. Last month, LG Energy Solution stopped all U.S. business trips after 47 of its employees and about 250 from partner companies were detained by immigration authorities at the joint battery plant under construction in Georgia.
The workers returned to Korea just eight days after the detainment incident. LG Energy Solution supported its employees and partner company staff with paid leave, health check-ups, and psychological counseling programs until the end of the Chuseok holidays.
Nevertheless, the local economic situation continues to deteriorate. Georgia public broadcaster WABE and ‘The Current’ reported on the 14th (local time) an article titled ‘ICE Crackdown Causes Ripples in Georgia Port Area’.
According to the report, Chip Johnson, CEO of Atlanta investment firm Turnstone Group, invested in a hotel near Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant America in Bryan County, Georgia, expecting Hyundai employees to stay at the site’s only accommodation facility consistently. However, since its opening in July, only one Hyundai employee has stayed at the hotel.
The Asian food wholesale store ‘Viet Huong’ in the Savannah area opened a large grocery store opposite the Hyundai plant a year ago and thrived. Many Korean workers dined and enjoyed snacks during lunch and purchased groceries after work.
However, since the large-scale Korean detainment incident by U.S. immigration authorities, the store’s customer base has steadily declined. Local residents are not interested in Korean groceries, and the store is burdened with inventory without the ability to purchase new products.
The situation is similar for a Korean restaurant in Pooler near the Hyundai plant. The restaurant owner, who requested anonymity, mentioned that last month’s sales decreased by 18%, and they are unsure how much longer they can sustain the business. They stated, “Not only those Koreans who were detained, but also others, startled by the immigration crackdown, have returned to Korea,” adding, “No Koreans want to come here.”
Another Korean restaurant owner said, “Previously, 20 to 30 Koreans would have group dinners every day, but post-crackdown, five customers are considered a lot.” They detailed how food ingredients are now rotting and being discarded.
In Savannah, where the Hyundai plant is located, a pulp mill closure last month resulted in a large number of layoffs. Following the detainment incident, Hyundai held a public recruitment event at Savannah Technical College Campus on the 30th of last month. About 350 job seekers from across Georgia attended with resumes in hand.
Daisya Mosley, who had worked at a gun factory opposite the Hyundai plant for four years before being laid off last month, was among those present, expressing, “I don’t mind a one-hour commute if it means finding a well-paying job.” Truck driver Cody Bennington also mentioned, “I applied because I’m looking for a stable job.”
Bruce Hall, a 62-year-old military veteran with a resume in hand, expressed optimism about the event, saying, “The recruitment event signals Hyundai’s commitment to contribute to the community in the long term,” and he hopes it serves as an opportunity to connect with the local community rather than just for monetary gain.