Happy Thursday! It's October 2, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.
In this morning's edition, we're looking at the return of LG's South Korean workers to the U.S., as well as GM's latest worker furlough. We'll also look at Elon Musk's incomprehensible and ever-increasing wealth, and Rivian's very good fiscal quarter.
Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 300 South Korean workers at a Hyundai/LG battery plant in Georgia. Those workers quickly and understandably got the hell out of Dodge, but it seems they're now allowed back in the country. From Bloomberg:
LG Energy Solution Ltd. will start sending workers from South Korea back to the US for essential business trips less than a month after hundreds of employees were detained in a visa crackdown.
Trips will restart after the Chuseok holiday, which wraps up at the end of next week, LG Energy said in a statement Thursday.
"This decision follows confirmation from the US-Korea working group that holders of short-term commercial (B-1) visas and Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) are permitted to perform equipment installation, inspection, and maintenance at our US factories," the statement said.
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On Tuesday, Washington and Seoul held an inaugural meeting of their Business Travel and Visa working group in Washington as part of efforts to establish clarity in the US work visa system. Most of the detained workers were on B-1 visas or under a 90-day visa waiver program commonly referred to as ESTA, which doesn't allow for employment but which also doesn't clarify the scope of business allowed.
During the meeting, the US reaffirmed that South Korean companies can use B-1 visas and ESTA for installation, service and repair of equipment, and the two countries agreed to launch a Korea investor desk at the US embassy in Seoul to handle employment issues, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.
Of course, the workers all had visas when they were detained, and that didn't stop ICE from cuffing first and asking questions later. It remains to be seen how many of those Hyundai/LG workers actually have any interest in setting foot on U.S. soil once again. I'd bet very few want to come back.
General Motors has been retooling its Fairfax Assembly factory in Kansas to produce the Chevy Bolt and Equinox, with the promise to workers that the factory would spin up production pretty rapidly. Now, GM is walking back that promise, and waiting to see what demand looks like before it adds a second shift — leaving 900 workers out in the cold. From the Detroit Free Press:
General Motors is placing 900 workers on indefinite layoff at its the Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas, the company told the Detroit Free Press on Oct. 1, as it retools the plant for production of the gas-powered Equinox. Those employees were placed on temporary layoff as of Sept. 4.
Employees with the highest seniority will have the opportunity to return sooner as the plant gears up for production of the new Chevrolet Bolt. GM said there is not a current time frame for when that return would take place or how many employees will be needed to meet those production needs.
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Fairfax Assembly, in Kansas City, Kansas, which ended production earlier this year of the Cadillac XT4 and the Chevrolet Malibu, said on Sept. 4 that it is no longer immediately planning to add a second shift once construction ramps up for the Bolt.
I'm sure the United Auto Workers will have something to say about this indefinite furlough, and it probably won't be wildly enthusiastic. Generally unions like their members to keep getting paid.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is the world's richest person. He is unfathomably wealthy, and just yesterday his net worth crested $500 billion. That's $500,000,000,000, in case you wanted to count the zeroes. From Reuters:
Elon Musk on Wednesday became the first person to surpass $500 billion in net worth, powered by a rebound in Tesla's share price this year and swelling valuations of his other tech ventures.
The milestone comes just under a year after Musk's net worth crossed $400 billion and underscores his lead as the world's richest person.
Musk's fortune briefly hit $500 billion on Wednesday, before settling at $499.1 billion at 5 p.m. ET, according to Forbes' billionaires index.
His wealth is tied closely to his about 12% stake in Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker. The electric-vehicle maker's stock has climbed about 14% so far this year after a choppy start.
Remember that time Musk promised to end world hunger if anyone could give him a plan that cost $6 billion, only to then turn around and simply not do that? Remember that when you buy a Tesla, spend your cash at a Supercharger, or pay for a subscription service or repair, this is where your money goes.
Rivian has been — and this is an industry term — going through it recently. The company makes cars that are simply incredible, but it never seems to be enough to keep the company in good financial standing. Last quarter, Rivian rode the tax-credit-expiry panic-buying to unexpectedly high sales, but even that isn't enough to boost its annual sales estimates for 2025 in the face of the Trump administration. From Reuters:
Rivian Automotive lowered the midpoint of its annual deliveries forecast range on Thursday as the EV-maker braces for an uncertain few quarters due to the lapse of federal tax credits, sending its shares down more than 7% in early trading.
Despite reporting a nearly 32% jump in deliveries, Rivian and the electric-vehicle industry face a cloudy outlook after the U.S. Congress, through sweeping legislation, moved to abolish a $7,500 tax credit on leasing that EV makers had long relied on to bolster sales.
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The company delivered 13,201 vehicles in the third quarter, compared with an estimate of 12,690 vehicles, according to analysts polled by Visible Alpha.
I truly hope that Rivian can make this work, because I want the company to succeed. Cars this good deserve a real shot in the world, and I'm always excited to see a Rivian out on the streets.
Made from real Gators!
Happy birthday to Jalopnik's resident baby, Andy. Your present is that I'm posting this photo rather than any of the Joker edits.
Another that's on the real, literal radio. Thanks, Eva Walker.