Hyundai workers strike as robot rollout raises job fears

Thousands of unionized Hyundai workers in South Korea have begun partial strikes after contract talks with the automaker stalled over pay and the company’s plans for humanoid robots. The dispute matters because The Wall Street Journal described it as the auto industry’s first factory stoppage tied to humanoid robot deployment.

Workers at Hyundai’s Ulsan production complex ended day and night shifts two hours early from July 13 through July 15, according to The Korea Times. The outlet reported that the union plans four-hour strikes from July 20 to July 22 after 15 rounds of negotiations failed to produce a deal.

The union represents more than 39,000 Hyundai workers in South Korea, The Wall Street Journal reported. Its demands include moving hourly production workers to fixed salaries to guard against reduced work hours from automation, raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 and increasing bonuses, according to the Journal.

Atlas robots drive the dispute

The labor fight intensified after Hyundai Motor Group showed the latest Atlas humanoid robot earlier this year. Atlas, built by Boston Dynamics, is a two-legged machine more than 6 feet tall that can lift more than 100 pounds, according to company descriptions cited in reports.

Hyundai plans to put more than 25,000 Atlas robots across Hyundai and Kia manufacturing sites, The Korea Herald reported. The company intends to begin with U.S. factories in 2028, though it has not publicly set a schedule for other locations.

Analysts have pointed to the cost pressures behind labor’s concern. Samsung Securities analyst Esther Yim told Bloomberg that an Atlas robot is estimated to cost $130,000 and could recover that cost in about two years of work. Macquarie Securities Korea analyst James Hong told Bloomberg that if the price falls to $100,000, its operating cost could fall below the U.S. federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and far below a typical auto worker’s pay.

Automakers have used industrial robots for decades, especially for repetitive jobs such as welding and parts handling. The International Federation of Robotics said more than 1 million robots were working in auto plants worldwide by 2021, representing about one-third of industrial robots across all sectors.

Humanoid robots are being pitched differently from fixed industrial machines. Robotics companies say AI-powered humanoids could eventually perform a wider range of jobs in factories designed around human bodies, though current systems still face limits in hardware, training and autonomy.

Georgia plant is first in line

Hyundai plans to start using Atlas at Metaplant America, its electric vehicle factory near Savannah, Georgia, in 2028, according to Hyundai. The plant’s workforce is not unionized, though the United Auto Workers has been trying to organize employees there.

Metaplant America already relies heavily on automation. IEEE Spectrum reported that the facility uses more than 850 robots for tasks including unloading parts, stamping steel components, assembling frames and installing doors, along with 300 automated guided vehicles that move parts through the plant.

Boston Dynamics’ four-legged Spot robot is also working at the Georgia site for exterior quality inspection in the weld shop, according to the company. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in July that Spot robots were being used to detect defects during inspections.

Hyundai officials have said the first Atlas jobs at the Georgia plant will involve sorting and organizing parts. Jerald Roach, a general assembly executive at Metaplant America, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that humanoid robots do not threaten the human workforce because workers’ hands and sense of touch remain needed for soft parts such as hoses, wires, carpets and trim panels.

Hyundai has pledged to employ 8,100 full-time workers at Metaplant America by 2031 under its economic development agreement with Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that state and local incentives for the project are valued at about $2.1 billion and that the plant employed more than 3,800 workers by the end of 2025.

Unions in the United States have also pressed automakers over automation. The UAW criticized General Motors after it installed about 50 robot arms at a Detroit electric vehicle plant following more than 1,300 temporary layoffs, and UAW President Shawn Fain warned in June about humanoid robotics and automation reducing jobs and pay.

This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.