Coalition Pressures Hyundai on $5.8B Louisiana Steel Mill
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- Coalition of labor unions, community and climate groups wrote to Hyundai CEO José Muñoz demanding the $5.8 billion steel mill in Donaldsonville meet strong health, environmental, and job-quality standards, following a March 28 town hall at the Lemann Memorial Donaldsonville Community Center where residents voiced concerns about forced displacement.
- United Steelworkers District 13 Director Larry Burchfield raised worker-safety alarms, citing "high numbers of deaths and injuries at a Hyundai facility in Georgia," and demanded a binding agreement guaranteeing family-sustaining local jobs and collective bargaining rights.
- Hyundai has publicly committed to "low-carbon-emissions steel production" using a direct reduction furnace and plans to transition to green hydrogen by 2034, but the coalition notes the company has yet to reveal how it will source the renewable energy needed to power the facility.
- Hyundai's air permit application failed to consider many electrified alternative technologies that could significantly reduce pollution from the steelmaking portion of the plant, according to the Sierra Club's review.
- Sierra Club wrote to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality demanding a public information session, multiple public hearings, and at least 60 days for public comment before an air permit is granted, noting Ascension Parish "already has more toxic pollution than 96% of the rest of the country."
- State Rep. Joseph Orgeron admitted signing a non-disclosure agreement tied to the Hyundai steel mill, fueling transparency complaints as residents of Modeste and Donaldsonville face potential displacement and fear health impacts from methane gas use releasing nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide.
- A report this month showed Ford, GM, and Tesla are signaling demand for green steel that the Louisiana plant could help supply, even as an October opinion poll found a majority of locals support the facility but remain worried about pollution and public health.
Why it matters: The coalition is pushing Hyundai to lock in binding commitments — on emissions technology, renewable energy sourcing, local hiring, and collective bargaining — before the company breaks ground on a $5.8 billion facility in a parish already carrying more toxic pollution than 96% of U.S. counties. If the demands are met, the project could become a template for clean industrial development; if ignored, it risks repeating a familiar pattern of unfulfilled promises in communities like Modeste and Donaldsonville that have historically borne the costs of industrial expansion.
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