After the outbreak, many businesses are racing to recruit suitable staff. One Hyundai subsidiary has reportedly hired minor workers for an Alabama facility. Some were 12 years old, according to the study.
Hyundai's affiliate SMART Alabama LLC stamps metal parts in Montgomery, Alabama.
Reuters reports that some minors worked at the company and several skipped school to work lengthy shifts.
The news agency heard about the underage labor after a Guatemalan migrant child disappeared in February.
Reuters reported that the same 13-year-old girl worked at the plant with her 15- and 12-year-old siblings.
These three minors were "within a broader cohort of underage workers," according to a dozen sources.
SMART disputed the charges and blamed temp agencies. It expected "agency recruiters, hirers, and placers to follow the law"
We're amazed that anybody so young could acquire a job in such a setting, unless there was a culture of unlawful conduct.
Hyundai's human rights policy prohibits underage labor at its suppliers. SMART has paid $48,515 in OSHA fines since 2013.
Gary Sport, general manager of SMART, clarified his position in a 2020 letter to U.S. diplomatic officials in Mexico.
Hyundai wouldn't accept the plant's "serious labor shortage," he said.