Korean auto company Hyundai is investigating whether Alabama-based suppliers relied on underage workers in violation of U.S. child labor laws.
The company intends to “sever relations” with two supplier plants in Alabama that have mustered scrutiny over labor conditions, Hyundai’s global COO Jose Munoz told Reuters.
NORTH KOREA FIRES ARTILLERY BARRAGE INTO BORDERING SEAS
“Hyundai is pushing to stop using third-party labor suppliers, and oversee hiring directly,” Munoz told the news outlet.
A spokesperson for Hyundai confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the investigation is ongoing and that the company is cooperating with authorities in the matter.
“Hyundai does not tolerate illegal employment practices in any Hyundai entity,” the spokesperson said. “Hyundai is committed to its suppliers who comply with the long standing federal, state, and local labor laws and will not hesitate to move to sever its relationship with any supplier found violating our stringent policies.”
Munoz is ordering a comprehensive inquiry of the auto manufacturer’s auto parts suppliers to make sure that they are complying with labor laws, according to the report. The plants provided supplies to the company’s Montgomery, Alabama, operation, which have produced roughly half of the total vehicles the company sold in the U.S. last year, according to the report.
A Reuters report from July uncovered evidence of child labor at a plant in Alabama. This included a 12-year-old who did work at a metal stamping plant run by SMART Alabama. Alabama and U.S. officials opened a child labor inquiry into SMART and later into SL Alabama, another Hyundai supplier.
The company initially told the Wall Street Journal it had “no evidence that there is any truth” to the allegations in the report. However, the company appears to have faced growing pressure in recent months to remedy the issue.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
For example, an investor group recently prodded the company to address reports of child labor by its U.S. suppliers. In a letter to the company’s chaiman Wednesday, the SOC Investment Group warned the child labor issue could harm the company’s reputation.
“Child labor and poor workplace health and safety have regulatory and legal repercussions for Hyundai in the U.S. and can cause reputational damage across the globe,” the letter warned, according to Reuters.
