The US labor authorities have voiced concerns over excessive production demands made by South Korea’s biggest automaker Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors to their subcontractors at the expense of employee safety.



The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the US Labor Ministry recently stated that the safety issues at Ajin USA, a subcontractor of Hyundai and Kia Motors, are not exclusive to Ajin, according to news reports here Monday.

The Ajin USA plant in Alabama supplies stamp metal parts to Hyundai and Kia Motors.

Last June, a 20-year-old employee of the Ajin USA plant in Cusseta, Alabama, named Regina Allen Elsea, was killed after getting stuck in a machine that had suddenly malfunctioned.

The OSHA fined Ajin USA and two other agencies a total of 3 billion won ($2.6 million) for 23 safety violations.

In a press release OSHA said, “Kia and Hyundai’s on-demand production targets are so high that workers at their suppliers are often required to work six and sometimes seven days a week to meet the targets.”

“It appears that -- to reduce its own costs in meeting these targets -- this supplier cut corners on safety, at the expense of workers’ lives and limbs.”

According to OSHA’s data on injured workers at Hyundai and Kia Motors’ partner firms, some 27 cases of serious injuries were reported between Jan. 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016.

Thirteen cases of amputation were reported and there was one death reported at Ajin USA in Alabama.

On May 19 2015, for instance, a worker of Daehan Solution lost a finger while working

On Oct. 28, 2015, a worker of SCA Inc. in Alabama suffered a broken ankle and a punctured lung after cargo fell off from a forklift truck.

Accidents were also reported in plants run by Hyundai and Kia Motors.

On July 5, 2015, a worker of Hyundai Motor’s Alabama plant accidently tripped and broke his back.

David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for the OSHA, held a meeting with Hyundai and Kia motors’ management level officials at the automaker’s headquarters in Korea in 2015, expressing concerns over the series of accidents.

Michaels told Yonhap News Agency that a majority of consumers would not purchase automobiles made at the expense of workers’ death or injury. Automakers should also not place workers in danger to reach their production targets.

Hyundai Motor Group, which runs Hyundai and Kia Motors, was unavailable for comment.

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)