According to Reuter’s website South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co told shareholders on Friday that it would divest its controlling stake in the Alabama auto parts plant who had employed children as young as 12 last year.
Hyundai also pledged in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to implement new corporate measures including a training program for its parts suppliers beginning next month to prevent future child labor violations.
One of the plants where children as young as twelve years old worked, SMART Alabama LLC in rural Luverne, Alabama, is a direct Hyundai subsidiary. According to Hyundai’s financial statements from last year, the automaker controls a 72% stake in SMART.