USA: Hyundai says it is investigating and plans to cut ties with Alabama factories with child labour violations
Summary
Date Reported: 21 Oct 2022
Location: United States of America
Companies
Hyundai Motor (part of Hyundai Kia Motor) - Buyer , SL Alabama - Employer , JK USA - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: 7
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Guatemala , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Reuters
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Hyundai intends to "sever relations" with the supplier under scrutiny for deploying underage labor "as soon as possible". A broader investigation into Hyundai's entire network was also launched by the company. SL Alabama said it had taken "aggressive steps to remedy the situation" as soon it learned a subcontractor had provided underage workers. It terminated its relationship with the staffing firm, took more direct control of the hiring process and hired a law firm to conduct an audit of its employment practices, it said.
Source type: News outlet
"Korean auto giant Hyundai investigating child labor in its U.S. supply chain", 22 October 2022
Hyundai Motor Co, Korea's top automaker, is investigating child labor violations in its U.S. supply chain and plans to "sever ties" with Hyundai suppliers in Alabama found to have relied on underage workers [...] A Reuters investigative report in July documented children, including a 12-year-old, working at a Hyundai-controlled metal stamping plant in rural Luverne, Alabama, called SMART Alabama, LLC. [...] Authorities subsequently launched a child labor probe at another of Hyundai's regional supplier plants, Korean-operated SL Alabama, finding children as young as age 13.
In an interview before a Reuters event in Detroit on Wednesday, Munoz said Hyundai intends to "sever relations" with the two Alabama supplier plants under scrutiny for deploying underage labor "as soon as possible." In addition, Munoz told Reuters he had ordered a broader investigation into Hyundai's entire network of U.S. auto parts suppliers for potential labor law violations and "to ensure compliance."
[...] The executive also pledged that Hyundai would push to stop relying on third party labor suppliers at its southern U.S. operations. As Reuters reported, migrant children from Guatemala found working at SMART Alabama, LLC and SL Alabama had been hired by recruiting or staffing firms in the region. In a statement to Reuters this week, Hyundai said it had already stopped relying on at least one labor recruiting firm that had been hiring for SMART.
[...]