SEOUL– Hyundai Motor Co. intends to cut off ties with two of its suppliers in the United States under investigation for allegedly having hired underage workers at their auto-parts plants, a news report has said.
Jose Munoz, Hyundai’s global chief operating officer, told Reuters on Wednesday (U.S. time) that the South Korean automaker plans to “sever ties as soon as possible” with two suppliers in Alabama under scrutiny for suspected child labor violations.
U.S. authorities have been looking into allegations that the two suppliers had recruited children as young as in their early teens to work at their auto-parts plants. The hiring was believed to have been made through staffing agencies.
A spokesperson at Hyundai Motor in Seoul declined to comment.
An internal probe into Hyundai’s other U.S. auto parts suppliers is also ongoing for potential labor law violations, Munoz was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Source: Yonhap News Agency