Hyundai Motor Union Launches World’s First Strike Against Humanoid Robots

As AI and automation reshape traditional manufacturing, Hyundai Motor’s union has launched the world’s first “anti-robot” strike, protesting management’s plan to introduce Atlas humanoid robots developed by Boston Dynamics. The workers are not demanding a ban on the technology. Instead, they want hourly pay replaced with fixed monthly salaries to prevent their income from plunging if automation reduces working hours, a key safeguard for traditional workers confronting the AI race.

The union at Hyundai Motor’s main production complex in Ulsan, South Korea, began a three-day partial strike on July 15, 2026, with each daily shift ending two hours early. It is demanding that management delay the introduction of Atlas robots, estimated to cost $130,000 each, and reach an agreement with the union before formally deploying them at the company’s U.S. plant in 2028. The action has severely disrupted production lines, with estimated losses running into hundreds of billions of won.