Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Motor declined a March 10, 2026 request from ten subcontractor unions representing roughly 1,675 logistics, security, cleaning, cafeteria, and vehicle-sales workers at its Ulsan, Asan, and Jeonju plants to bargain directly under South Korea's amended 'Yellow Envelope' Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, which expanded the legal definition of 'employer' to cover companies that substantially control subcontracted workers' conditions. The Ulsan Regional Labor Relations Commission ruled against Hyundai in September 2026, and the National Labor Relations Commission upheld that Hyundai must recognize bargaining obligations for production, cafeteria, security, and cleaning subcontract workers (though not dealership sales agents). As of mid-August 2026, only 102 of 456 principal companies nationwide that received similar demands had entered negotiations, with many, including Hyundai group affiliates, contesting the rulings through administrative appeals.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) named Hyundai-Kia's US supply chain to its 2026 'Dirty Dozen' list on April 24, 2026, the first time the automaker's supply chain has appeared. A companion report from Jobs to Move America and Re-CALL/Injustice documented 12 worker deaths and 854 OSHA citations (70% serious, willful, or repeat) across Hyundai-Kia supplier plants from 2015-September 2025, plus 15 documented cases of illegal child labor since 2020, including a 13-year-old who worked up to 60 hours a week at an Alabama metal-stamping supplier, SMART Alabama -- the subject of a US Department of Labor lawsuit naming Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama as joint employer. A November 13, 2025 Jobs to Move America lawsuit in California state court further alleges Hyundai and Kia used coerced migrant and prison labor in Alabama and Georgia supplier plants while falsely certifying compliance with California's 'high-road' labor standards to win public contracts.

Australia's Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) opened a formal investigation into Hyundai (publicly named April 2026), examining whether its connected vehicles -- including the Bluelink app -- collect personal data beyond what is reasonably necessary, whether valid consent is obtained, whether driver data is disclosed to third parties for secondary purposes like marketing without consent, and whether unneeded data is properly destroyed or de-identified. A 2024 CHOICE consumer-advocacy investigation had already rated Hyundai as the most concerning of 10 car brands analyzed, finding it collected and shared driver biometric voice data with a third-party AI company. Hyundai Motor Company Australia said it 'takes the protection and security of customer data very seriously' but declined to discuss the investigation, which OAIC expects to take up to 18 months and said would have implications for the Australian public beyond the two named companies (Hyundai and Toyota).