Steel Mills

Hyundai still on for Louisiana steel mill despite US raid at Georgia battery plant

Written by Ethan Bernard

September 17, 2025

Hyundai has reaffirmed its commitment to build a steel plant in Louisiana following a US government immigration raid at its battery facility in Georgia.

“There are no changes to our previously announced plans,” a spokesman for Hyundai Motor USA told SMU on Wednesday. “We have a strategic long-term commitment to the US market.”

As previously reported, Hyundai, in partnership with South Korea’s POSCO, is planning a $5.8-billion electric-arc furnace steel mill in Louisiana.

There was pushback from South Korea against investment in the US after a raid at the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery plant in Ellabell, Ga., on Sept. 4, according to the Louisiana Illuminator. Over 300 South Korean workers were detained, the article said.

A story in the AP reported that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said companies in the country might be hesitant to invest in the US unless the visa process for workers was reformed.

The Hyundai-POSCO venture will specialize in producing automotive steel sheets and have an annual production capacity of 2.7 million metric tons of hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel sheet once operations start in 2029.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

Read more from Ethan Bernard

Latest in Steel Mills