Thousands of unionized Hyundai workers in South Korea have staged partial strikes over the company's plans to deploy more than 25,000 Atlas humanoid robots across its manufacturing plants, marking the auto industry's first factory stoppage specifically addressing humanoid robotics. Negotiations broke down after 15 rounds of talks, with workers demanding salary protections and a higher retirement age to guard against automation-driven job losses. The dispute reflects growing broader labor concerns, as Hyundai plans to begin deploying the robots at its non-unionized Georgia factory in 2028, while unions like the UAW are also raising alarms about the wider threat of humanoid robots to worker employment and pay.
