The American arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. plans to commence production operations at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America by the fourth quarter of 2024, with official opening of the facility targeted for the first quarter of 2025, Hyundai Motor America announced Monday.
Currently under construction on the 3,000-acre site in Black Creek just south of I-16 East near Blitchton, the Metaplant complex is now projected to employ, eventually, 8,500 people on-site. Additionally, parts suppliers building factories in the region – including some in Bulloch County – expect to employ almost 6,000 more workers. So, Hyundai Motor Group now projects that the Metaplant and off-site suppliers together will create a total of 14,476 jobs at full production.
At a press tour of the Metaplant in October 2023, HMG Metaplant America CEO and President Oscar Kwon said: “We are on track to start production in early 2025, or as my boss, Josè Muñoz, likes to say, ‘if not sooner.’” It became officially “sooner” on Monday.
Exactly one year earlier – in 2022, Muñoz, who is Hyundai Motor North America president and CEO, along with Hyundai executives from South Korea and Gov.
Brian Kemp attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the plant.
Monday in Atlanta, Muñoz joined Kemp and other elected state leaders in Atlanta for “Hyundai Day” at the state capitol.
“For decades, Hyundai Motor Group has been an incredible partner to our state, and we knew exactly what kind of historic benefits a project like this would bring to hardworking Georgians when we first began talks with HMG,” Kemp said. “We share a focus on the future, and we’re excited for what our long-term partnership will bring for the coastal region and all of Georgia.”
Up to 300,000 Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia EVs are expected to be produced annually at the Metaplant. Additionally, 17 HMGMA suppliers have announced projects across 10 Georgia counties spanning beyond southeast Georgia, with further announcements expected. Expected to create more than 6,700 new jobs and more than $2.5 billion in investment, supplier facilities will be operational prior to the opening of the Metaplant.
“Georgia is like a second home to us,” Muñoz said. “On behalf of all of us at Hyundai Motor Group, we are very proud that Hyundai’s investments in Georgia will create tens of thousands of great paying American jobs and bring tens of billions of dollars in economic impact for decades to come.”
Already at the Metaplant site, four building exteriors are complete and outfitting for internal operations is underway. The Metaplant’s architecture incorporates technologically advanced elements. Also, a 41-acre park will be featured in front of the plant that includes trails, running tracks, environmental art displays, sports fields and other amenities for employee use.
According to the governor’s office full-time Metaplant employees are being hired at a rapid pace for training and skills on machinery, office and clerical work, and numerous other plant jobs. The Metaplant currently has 566 full-time employees. Of that workforce, approximately 75 percent are from the greater Savannah area. An additional 37 employees are from Georgia but are outside of the local area. Georgia Quick Start broke ground on its customized training center at the Metaplant site on Feb. 8.
Also, the Metaplant has partnered with Ogeechee Technical College and other area technical colleges to prepare students for entry-level employment at the Metaplant.