Hyundai to build $5.8b steel mill in Louisiana

By Wesley Muller
Contributing Writer

(lailluminator.com) — South Korean automaker Hyundai announced Monday that it plans to build a $5.8 billion steel mill in Louisiana to manufacture metal alloys for the company’s vehicle plants in Alabama and Georgia.

Company executives held a joint news conference at the White House with President Donald Trump, Gov. Jeff Landry and local leaders, announcing the steel mill is just one piece of its plans for investing $21 billion in U.S. expansions over the coming years. Construction of the facility is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026.

The project, located in Donaldsonville, will be the company’s first steel mill in the United States and is expected to create an estimated 1,300 direct jobs.

“As a result, they’ll not have to pay any tariffs,” Trump said. “You know, there are no tariffs if you make your product in America, so that’s why so many people are coming.”

Hyundai’s announcement comes as foreign companies seek solutions ahead of Trump’s April 2 tariff deadline.

“For decades now, what Americans have seen is jobs being offshored rather than onshored, and today’s announcement is exactly that,” Landry said.
Hyundai chairman Euisun Chung said he shared his company’s expansion plans, which included its plant in Georgia, with Trump when the two met in Seoul back in 2019. Hyundai also plans to purchase an estimated $3 billion worth of liquefied natural gas to support its project, Chung said.

Hyundai has made other large investments in the U.S. recently, including a dedicated electric vehicle and battery plant in Georgia. The company also announced Monday it will open a third plant in Georgia.

This article originally published in the March 31, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.