Massive Hyundai Plant Sparks Hope for Savannah’s Economy, But All It Needs is Workers

SAVANNAH, Georgia, Aug. 15, 2025 – Auto and auto ancillary units are often located either outside urban areas or on the outskirts of cities and towns. It's common for manufacturing hubs, once home to major automakers, to now house multiple vehicle manufacturers. Hyundai follows the trend of its South Korean and Japanese counterparts, who are known for building cars amid industrial activity.

While Hyundai explores scenic locations globally for car launches and employee events, it has created a unique presence in Savannah, Georgia. Known for its lush gardens and moonlit ghost tours, Savannah is now becoming a hub for manufacturing.

Factory’s Facts You Should Know

Metaplant America: Located just 20 miles from Savannah’s historic cobblestone streets and riverboats, Hyundai Motor Co. has established Metaplant America, a state-of-the-art facility where the company plans to produce up to 500,000 hybrid and electric vehicles annually. This development marks a significant economic milestone for Southeast Georgia, which had previously watched other Southern cities attract large foreign auto plants that transformed their local economies. Today, thousands of workers in the region assemble vehicles designed by German, Korean, and Japanese manufacturers.

A tour of Metaplant reveals that the facility is heavily automated. Robotic arms lift and weld steel components, while other robots deliver parts across the floor. Despite the automation, Hyundai hopes to employ around 12,500 people by 2031, with additional workers at nearby suppliers.

Developing Human Resources: The Metaplant boasts over 850 robots and nearly 300 Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). Meanwhile, Savannah’s business and education leaders are working together to fill the thousands of jobs the plant will create. This task is challenging in a metro area with just over 400,000 residents and an unemployment rate of only 2.9 percent.

To address this, local leaders are introducing manufacturing skills to school children as young as grade school. Additionally, they are providing support to jobseekers with criminal backgrounds or past addictions, while also recruiting workers from across the East Coast.

Recruitment So Far: Hyundai has already hired around 1,400 workers, including 900 production employees, since the plant opened in March. One of three planned production lines is up and running, producing the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 crossover SUVs.

“Husbands are asking their wives to come, people are asking their partners, people are asking their children to come work here,” said Brent Stubbs, the Metaplant’s chief administrative officer, in an interview with Bloomberg. “This is just the beginning.”

To meet its hiring goals, Hyundai faces several challenges, including higher home prices and mortgage rates, as well as wage stagnation. Pay in the automotive manufacturing sector has not kept up with inflation, with average hourly wages falling 8 percent since 1990, according to federal data. In a city like Savannah, where tourism is the primary industry, wages tend to remain low.

What is the Way Forward for the Factory?

When fully operational, the Metaplant will employ more than 8,500 workers, with thousands more at nearby suppliers. Many potential workers face gaps in both skills and perception about factory work. Some are hesitant to apply for manufacturing jobs because they don't fully understand the nature of the work or its benefits.

“I would probably venture to say they don’t understand what manufacturing is,” said Susan Williams, who oversees state-run training centers for Hyundai and other employers in Eastern Georgia.

Savannah’s economy is not as tourism-dependent as it may seem, according to Tyler Case, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics. He pointed out that hospitality is just one part of a "three-legged stool," supported by the fourth-busiest U.S. seaport and manufacturing. Gulfstream Aerospace, the largest employer in the region, has been based in Savannah since 1967 and employs 13,000 workers who manufacture business jets.

When Hyundai announced plans to build its $5.5 billion plant (later raised to $7.5 billion) in Bryan County, with average annual wages of $58,105, it brought a surge of optimism to local leaders. Notably, the Volvo factory in Charleston, South Carolina, had previously disappointed residents by securing the same parcel of land Hyundai now occupies.

“We needed another massive, really awesome advanced manufacturing facility to intensify the diversity that we have,” said Trip Tollison, chief executive of the Savannah Economic Development Authority.

Need for Human Resources Despite Robots

Despite the facility’s high degree of automation, the Metaplant will still require 8,500 human workers on-site and an additional 4,000 at suppliers. To fill these roles, a broad strategy involving local schools, state officials, and Hyundai is in place. A new initiative, the Regional Industry Support Enterprise (RISE), is conducting roadshows up and down the East Coast to attract talent.

Additionally, the Metaplant has partnered with four technical colleges in the greater Savannah area to offer the Electric Vehicle Professional (EVP) Technical Certificate of Credit (TCC). The program prepares students for entry-level roles in electric vehicle production. The plant will produce Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, and eventually models for Kia and Genesis.

Hyundai has hired some 1,400 workers, including 900 production employees, for the plant, which formally opened in March this year. By 2031, Hyundai hopes to have some 12,500 people working at the plant and for its nearby suppliers.

Inputs from Saqib Malik

Editing by David Ryder