Hyundai Motor is now investigating child labor violations in its US supply chain and plans to cut relationships with suppliers in Alabama that have used child labor. This was reported by Reuters, citing the words of the company’s chief operating officer, Jose Munoz.
The investigation is based on documents from a 12-year-old who worked at the Hyundai-controlled metal stamping plant SMART Alabama, LLC in rural Luverne, Alabama, USA.
Following the Reuters report, the Alabama Department of Labor, in conjunction with federal agencies, launched an investigation into SMART Alabama. Authorities then turned their attention to another supplier of the Korean company, SL Alabama, whose employees were found to have children as young as 13 years old. Alabama employment law requires employees to be at least 18 years old.
In addition, Munoz said he had ordered a broader investigation into Hyundai’s entire U.S. auto parts supplier network for “possible violations of labor laws.
Munoz’s comments are a public admission that child labor may have taken place in a network of dozens of mostly Korean auto parts factories that supply Hyundai’s large car assembly plant in Montgomery, Alabama.
As for suppliers, both companies reportedly relied on third-party recruiting firms to recruit employees. SL Alabama ended its relationship with one firm and hired a law firm to conduct an audit. Smart Alabama has so far been silent about the alleged violations.
In February, Reuters accidentally learned of a 13-year-old migrant girl from Guatemala who went missing briefly from her home in Alabama. The family later admitted that she, along with two brothers, ages 12 and 15, worked at Smart Alabama LLC. During a conversation with current and former employees of the factory, it was found that up to 50 underage employees could work in different shifts.
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