Global EV, battery sectors in war for talent acquisition

Global electric vehicle and battery makers are fiercely competing to secure talent with high salaries and various incentives as their workforces are insufficient to meet rapid growth in the eco-friendly automobile market.

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s No. 3 automaker, plans to invite some 100 doctoral students studying at major universities in North America and Europe to South Korea for a global employment event, according to industry sources on Wednesday.

The leading South Korean carmaker is set to provide the participants of the four-day fair starting on Aug. 7 with round-trip tickets and accommodation at a five-star hotel for three nights. 

The group of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. is poised to showcase its core businesses such as eco-friendly vehicles and smart factories to attract those students.

WILD WILD WEST

Global EV and battery manufacturers are engaging in their fiercest-ever battle for talent acquisition in the US as they rush to build plants in the world’s third-largest clean vehicle market to take advantage of Washington’s policy that favors products in the country.

Hyundai is hiring staff for its $5.5 billion EV and battery production facilities in the US state of Georgia under construction, which is scheduled to start mass production in the second half of 2024. The company was known to have prepared attractive packages with the local government.

To recruit mechanics for its existing factory in Montgomery, Alabama, Hyundai offered a starting salary of about $30 per hour, discounts for new cars such as the Genesis and health insurance. The hourly wage was understood to be about 50% higher than some $20 of other car plants.

South Korean battery makers with factories in North America accelerated talent acquisition there.

LG Energy Solution Ltd., the world’s second-largest EV cell maker, holds recruitment events frequently across North America as it is operating or building eight plants in the US. Top executives such as Chief Technology Officer Shin Youngjoon often have dinners with capable students in master’s or doctorate programs in the US and Canada to lure them.

Its smaller rival SK On Co.’s US unit held a “drive-through” recruitment event for the convenience of job seekers.

The EV and battery makers are expected to keep struggling for talent acquisition in North America for the time being, industry sources said.

“We are considering various incentives as it is getting tougher to hire talented staff,” said one of the sources in Seoul.

HIGH WAGES WITH INCENTIVES

Salaries for EV and battery talent in the US skyrocketed with median wages already ranging from around $100,000 for a junior cell engineer to nearly $200,000 for a director in 2021, according to a report from the Volta Foundation, the world’s largest community for battery industry professionals. Tesla Inc., the global EV leader, was understood to face difficulties in talent acquisition.

Volkswagen Group’s battery subsidiary PowerCo SE conducts about 200 interviews a month on average to hire up to 20,000 employees by 2030. It offers monthly salaries of more than 9,000 euros ($9,875) for 35 hours of work a week.

But high pay is not everything in luring talent. German luxury carmaker BMW offers tuition to even its temporary workers.

The government of Michigan, where the US Big Three automakers operate factories, launched an EV scholarship program for companies that set up new production facilities in the state. The government plans to provide scholarships to excellent students majoring in related sectors if they decide to join the companies participating in the scheme.

Some companies are reaching out to younger students for future recruitment.

The German automotive technology developer ZF Friedrichshafen AG (ZF Group) provides its own robots to elementary schools to encourage children's curiosity in future car technology and the company.

ZF Group also invites high school teachers to its factories in the summer to introduce the company in a bid to entice excellent students.

Write to Sungsu Bae and Il-Gue Kim at baebae@hankyung.com
 

Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.