Hyundai announced Thursday that it plans to ramp up U.S. based vehicle manufacturing, continuing investment in a Georgia-based plant that was recently at the center of a controversial immigration raid.
Hyundai says it will invest another $2.7 billion through 2028 at its electric vehicle plant in Ellabel, Georgia, pushing the factory's capacity to half a million vehicles. The expansion is expected to create some 3,000 local jobs.
By 2030, the company plans to make 80% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. market within the United States.
Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp praised the expansion on social media, saying he looked forward to the company's growth in the state for "years to come."
RELATED STORY | Over 300 South Korean migrants released after being detained at Ga. Hyundai plant
Early in September, federal law enforcement officials conducted a raid at the Georgia plant. Officials said that 475 people — mostly South Korean nationals — were apprehended. Some of those present had entered the U.S. illegally, overstayed their visas, or did not have proper work permits.
More than 300 of those arrested were released without charges about a week later, to board a plane to return to South Korea.
The release of migrants came one day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. A readout of the meeting provided by the State Department did not mention any discussion of the Georgia raid.
South Korean officials said the country would investigate whether the raid violated the human rights of its workers.
