Hyundai robot plan faces labour test

Hyundai Motor Group has committed to placing more than 25,000 Atlas humanoid robots across Hyundai Motor and Kia factories, setting up a major test of industrial automation as its South Korea labour union warns that no deployment can proceed without a formal labour-management agreement.

The plan, outlined to investors this week, marks one of the most ambitious humanoid robot rollouts yet proposed by a global carmaker. The robots are being developed by Boston Dynamics, the US robotics company controlled by Hyundai Motor Group, and are expected to be integrated into factory operations from 2028, beginning with the group’s Metaplant America complex in Georgia before expanding to Kia AutoLand Georgia and other production sites.

Hyundai Motor Group has told investors it aims to build annual production capacity of 30,000 Atlas robots by 2028, while also producing more than 300,000 actuator units a year at US facilities. Actuators serve as the robot’s joints and muscles, making them central to the physical performance of humanoid machines in industrial settings.

The company has framed the plan as part of a phased transition towards AI-enabled manufacturing, with Atlas initially assigned to selected core production processes where automation could improve safety, consistency and productivity. The group’s public roadmap indicates that more complex factory roles would follow as the robots gain capability through artificial intelligence, vision-language-action models and industrial data collected from operating environments.

Labour opposition has become the most immediate constraint on that timetable. Hyundai Motor’s union in South Korea has warned that humanoid robots could trigger “employment shocks” if introduced without safeguards. The union has said that “not a single robot using new technology” should enter the workplace without a labour-management agreement, placing job security and worker consultation at the centre of the debate.

The dispute reflects a wider tension in global manufacturing as companies seek to use humanoid robots for repetitive, physically demanding or hazardous work, while unions press for guarantees that automation will not become a tool for reducing headcount. Hyundai’s union has also raised concerns over the group’s growing production emphasis in the United States, arguing that overseas expansion could place pressure on domestic output and employment.

Hyundai Motor Group’s automation strategy has accelerated since its acquisition of Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in 2021. Atlas, long known as a research platform, was shown publicly in product form at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where the company presented it as a machine capable of eventually operating autonomously in car assembly environments. The demonstration underlined Boston Dynamics’ effort to shift Atlas from a high-profile laboratory robot into a commercial industrial system.

The first large-scale deployment is expected at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America near Savannah, Georgia, where the group has been building electric and hybrid vehicle capacity. The Georgia site is due to play a central role in Hyundai’s US manufacturing strategy, with production capacity targeted to rise sharply by 2028. Kia’s plant in Georgia is expected to follow in the second half of 2029, before any broader global rollout.

Hyundai and Kia are under pressure to raise factory flexibility as electric vehicles, hybrids and software-defined vehicles reshape model cycles and production requirements. Humanoid robots are attractive to carmakers because they can theoretically work in spaces designed for humans, reducing the need to redesign entire factory lines. That promise remains unproven at scale, especially in complex assembly operations requiring fine dexterity, reliability and safe interaction with human workers.

Rivals and start-ups are pursuing similar goals. Tesla has continued to promote its Optimus humanoid robot for factory and commercial uses, while robotics firms in the United States, China and Europe are racing to develop machines capable of handling logistics, inspection, parts movement and assembly support. Most deployments remain limited pilots rather than full production systems, making Hyundai’s 25,000-unit target a significant benchmark for the sector.