Hidden in Plain Sight
Safety, Labor & Environmental Violations Driving Hyundai-Kia’s Supply Chain
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hyundai and Kia are two of the largest automotive brands in the world, supported by over $2.7 billion in public subsidies. Filling the void left by the region’s declining industries, Hyundai-Kia manufacturing backbone is in the U.S. South, but is marked with a record of preventable deaths, child labor, and environmental harm that reveal a disturbing pattern: Hyundai-Kia and its U.S. supply chain are operating on a low-road labor model of systemic exploitation that put workers and communities at risk.
Key Findings
Death and Injury Prevalence: Over the last 10 years, at least 12 workers have died working for companies in Hyundai-Kia’s U.S. supply chain, tied to failures in basic protections.
Evidence of Child Labor: Federal and state investigators, along with investigative journalists, uncovered children as young as 13 illegally employed in at least nine Hyundai-Kia suppliers in Alabama. Hyundai faces an active federal lawsuit alleging joint liability for these violations.
Environmental Violations: Hyundai-Kia’s U.S. assembly plants have incurred financial penalties exceeding those paid by all other auto manufacturing plants in Alabama and Georgia for environmental violations, paying over $158 million in penalties.
Regional Concentration: 60 percent of OSHA violations in Hyundai-Kia’s U.S. supply chain occurred in Alabama and Georgia, the same corridor driving its publicly funded EV expansion. This pattern points not just to geography concentration, but to a growth model built on weak enforcement and recurring safety failures.
Structural Cause: These abuses stem from a labor system built on temporary staffing and low standards, mirroring the employment practices long documented in Hyundai’s Korean operations.
Learn the Dirty Secrets Behind Hyundai-Kia’s Clean Cars
The drive for “clean-energy” vehicles and higher profit margins has come at the expense of workers’ rights and community well-being. Hyundai-Kia’s U.S. supply chain has been tied to child labor, prison labor, and serious environmental abuses. Hyundai-Kia must take accountability for its U.S. manufacturing supply chain and adopt enforceable standards that guarantee good jobs and the well-being of the communities where it operates.