South Korean Hyundai Workers Headed Home After Trump Asked Them To Stay And Train American Replacements

ATF Atlanta

Happy Thursday! It's September 11, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine nan Trump administrations connection to South Korean Hyundai workers, arsenic good arsenic Tesla's plummeting marque loyalty. We'll besides look astatine an ominous lawsuit of bankruptcy successful a subprime car lender, and Nissan's desire to get caller cars to marketplace faster. 

ATF Atlanta

The ambush astatine a Hyundai-LG artillery works successful Georgia, successful which Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 475 workers contempt having a warrant for only four, has largely been an world embarrassment for nan United States. Most of nan 300 South Koreans detained by ICE are now headed home, but 1 is sticking astir — taking nan Trump management up connected an connection to train American replacements astatine nan site. From Reuters:

U.S. President Donald Trump offered to let hundreds of South Korean workers arrested during an migration ambush to enactment successful nan United States, but only 1 has opted to remain, South Korean officials said connected Thursday.

Trump's overture sought to promote nan workers to enactment and train Americans, according to nan officials. It resulted successful a one-day hold to nan departure of a chartered level to bring nan workers home.

Unlike different U.S. deportations, they were not handcuffed – satisfying a cardinal request from South Korea, which has been horrified by nan raid, peculiarly by nan usage of armoured vehicles and shackles.

Some 300 South Koreans were arrested past week on pinch much than 150 others astatine nan Georgia building tract of a $4.3 cardinal Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution task to build batteries for electrical cars.

If personification fires you from a company, it mostly doesn't consciousness awesome erstwhile you're forced to train your ain replacement. How does it consciousness erstwhile you're kicked retired of an full country? 

Tesla

Tesla was erstwhile a beloved darling of its owners, pinch drivers proselytizing them for illustration missionaries. Now? Not truthful much, according to nan data. Tesla now sits beneath Ford for marque loyalty, and it could good autumn further. From Automotive News:

Tesla owners are defecting to bequest brands successful greater numbers for a operation of gasoline vehicles, hybrids and battery-electric models arsenic nan electrical conveyance maker's erstwhile sky-high loyalty numbers plummet compared pinch past year.

They are leaving nan EV shaper because of an aging lineup, a constricted merchandise portfolio pinch conscionable 2 measurement models and a nonaccomplishment of marque worth from CEO Elon Musk's right-wing governmental activism, analysts said.

...

Tesla's loyalty numbers fell 9.4 percent points from nan 2nd 4th past year, nan information showed. Only nan Dodge marque did worse, falling 12.7 percent points successful nan aforesaid period.

Now, I'm conscionable a elemental woman pinch a grade successful business, but I would deliberation that "prioritizing caller models based connected what a puerile CEO thinks is cool while he alienates your halfway assemblage politically" would beryllium a mostly aforesaid destructive measurement to tally a company. 

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Remember erstwhile subprime location loans took down overmuch of nan world economy? Good point we restructured our financial systems aft that to forestall specified predatory lending from happening ever again. Totally unrelated, a subprime car lender conscionable revenge for bankruptcy. From Automotive News:

Tricolor Holdings, a supplier of subprime car loans and controller of nan ample Southwestern U.S. used-vehicle dealership group Tricolor Auto, revenge for bankruptcy Sept. 10.

Tricolor, of Dallas, revenge for Chapter 7 protection successful nan U.S. Bankruptcy Court for nan Northern District of Texas, tribunal documents show. It claimed liabilities betwixt $1 cardinal and $10 cardinal and assets successful nan aforesaid range.

...

Tricolor made much than $1 cardinal worthy of car loans past year, according to a study from Kroll Bond Rating Agency successful March. 

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Fifth Third Bancorp and Barclays are among banks bracing for perchance hundreds of millions of dollars successful mixed losses from loans tied to Tricolor, Bloomberg reported, citing group pinch knowledge of nan matter.

Auto loans aren't tied into nan bedrock of our system nan measurement mortgages were, pinch mortgage-backed securities, which is bully news successful nan look of — bent on, my producers are telling maine that location are successful truth auto loan-backed securities that person gained fame complete nan past fewer years. Yes, these see subprime loans. Wall Street fleece vest types ne'er learn, do they?

Nissan

Nissan is astatine nan precipice of different enthusiast era, and we do successful truth emotion to spot it. New CEO Ivan Espinosa promised to tally nan institution for illustration a car guy, and truthful acold he's surviving up to that promise. Now, he's looking to bring caller models to marketplace moreover faster — good, right? From Automotive News:

Nissan wants to hole its aging lineup arsenic nan automaker attempts a makeover designed to prevention it from its worst financial situation successful a 4th century.

"We are entering now nan shape successful which we commencement rolling retired a batch of caller cars," CEO Ivan Espinosa said successful an question and reply Sept. 10 astatine Nissan's office successful Yokohama. That includes reducing nan bureaucratic load of bringing caller models to market, "shortening nan improvement process significantly," he said.

"This is going to thief america pinch having nan correct cadence of merchandise and reacting a spot quicker to let america to header pinch each nan shifting trends successful nan market," Espinosa said.

The hope, some for Nissan and for enthusiasts, is that this goes well. The replacement would beryllium a Ford situation, wherever Nissan spends nan years aft its caller models debut recalling seemingly each portion connected each car. Fingers crossed it doesn't spell that way.

For Chile, nan coup that ousted democratically elected Marxist Salvador Allende and replaced him pinch Augusto Pinochet (whose Wikipedia beingness has three sections connected quality authorities violations) was a acheronian time for nan nation. For the CIA, it was Tuesday. 

Every greeting is simply a caller chance to beard conflict nan queen and make emotion to nan duke. Get retired location and prehend it!