Hyundai Facility Expansion; Push to End Income Tax; Expand Access to Higher Education

Summary

---

Georgia Today – September 18, 2025

Main Themes: Hyundai’s Facility Expansion, Georgia’s Income Tax Debate, Emory University’s Access Expansion

---

Episode Overview

This episode of Georgia Today unpacks major economic, political, and educational developments in Georgia. The main stories center on Hyundai’s significant expansion plans despite recent federal immigration raids, legislative efforts to abolish the state income tax, and Emory University’s new initiative to increase access to higher education for middle-class families. The episode also addresses local data center controversies, Medicaid program challenges, and an ongoing lawsuit involving environmental hazards.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hyundai Facility Expansion & Immigration Raid Fallout

Hyundai’s Investment and Expansion

• Hyundai announced a $2.7 billion investment over three years in its southeast Georgia facility, promising 3,000 new jobs ([00:44]).
• This comes after a federal immigration raid detained and deported over 300 South Korean workers at an adjacent battery plant site, briefly delaying its opening ([00:44], [08:46]).
• Despite the legal and diplomatic turmoil, Hyundai remains committed to its Bryan County project.

Implications for Georgia’s Economy and Reputation

• The expansion reinforces Georgia’s status as an advanced manufacturing hub, with supportive remarks from Governor Brian Kemp and Savannah’s Mayor Van Johnson ([08:46]).
• The raid strained U.S.–South Korea relations and prompted anxieties about Georgia’s ability to attract and retain foreign investment.

Expert Interview – Dede Caldwell

• Trust & Investment:
  “Something like what happened at the Hyundai plant... is just one of those things that undermines the trust in the US Administration having their best interest at heart.” – Dede Caldwell ([10:20])
• Labor Needs & Immigration System:
  Caldwell highlights a critical need for skilled foreign technicians to transfer institutional knowledge, underscoring difficulties due to America’s “murky and bureaucratic visa system” ([11:18]).

  “It would be in everyone’s best interest if the US Government and these companies could work together to figure out what is the best path to allow that transfer of knowledge ... and employs people here in the most efficient and law-abiding way.” – Caldwell ([11:18])

• Georgia’s Labor Market:
  Caldwell praises the state’s strong technical college system and job training programs like Quick Start, but acknowledges an overall national shortage of skilled workers ([12:35]).
• Construction Workforce Issues:
  About 40% of U.S. construction workers are immigrants, and recent immigration enforcement actions have heightened workforce anxieties and disruptions ([14:28]).
• Business Needs:
  “Uncertainty and chaos is the enemy of investment... The difference between the best case scenario and the worst case scenario has grown by an order of magnitude.” – Caldwell ([15:22])

Governor Brian Kemp’s Perspective

• Kemp downplays the long-term impact of the raid, expressing optimism about continued investments and a belief that visa policy discussions will ultimately yield practical improvements ([16:21]):

  "I've had good conversations with companies that are here doing business in Georgia... I think this is one of those times where, you know, something good will come out of this in the end to help address the problem." – Gov. Brian Kemp ([16:21])

---

2. Push to End Georgia’s State Income Tax

Legislative Efforts and Testimony

• Republican lawmakers are considering ways to eliminate Georgia’s 5.19% state income tax, referencing growth in states like Florida due to their lack of such a tax ([01:30]).

  “People have flocked to the state, remote working, second homes, retirees. Why do people move to Florida?” – J. Ben Watkins ([02:09]) “What is our secret to success in Florida? Warm climate and low taxes.” – Gov. Brian Kemp (paraphrasing Florida’s Governor) ([02:18])

• The study committee agreed not to offset repeal by increasing property, grocery, or gasoline taxes ([02:24]).

---

3. Expanding Access to Higher Education – Emory University

Emory Advantage Plus Program

• Beginning in 2026, Emory University will offer full tuition coverage to undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000, making Emory’s financial aid among the nation’s five most generous ([02:48], [03:12]).

  "Looking at the next four years, Emory's undergraduate financial aid commitment will exceed $1 billion. For the students benefitting from this program, Emory will now have one of the five most generous financial assistance programs in the Nation." – Dede Caldwell ([03:12])

• The number of students receiving enough aid to cover full tuition will grow from about two-thirds to 80% of recipients ([03:29]).

---

4. Local News Highlights

Pathways to Coverage Medicaid Program

• Administrative costs for Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage (a Medicaid program for working adults) have exceeded actual health care spending due to delays and a single high-dollar contractor ([04:57]).

  “Most money spent on the Pathways program has gone to a single contractor... The federal government covered almost 90% of those costs, or about $40 million.” – Sophie Gradus ([04:57])

• Only ~9,000 Georgians are enrolled, far fewer than projected ([05:29]).

Data Center Expansion Controversies

• Troup County imposed a 90-day moratorium on new data center projects, citing concerns over water, energy, and pollution ([05:45]).
• In Twiggs County, a proposal for an AI data center that would double the tax base is met with local apprehension about quality of life changes ([06:38]):

  “Would you want a data center in your backyard?” – Buddy Falk ([07:06]) “That’s easy to say when you’re from a city.” – Grant Blankenship, paraphrasing local sentiment ([07:13])

Environmental Lawsuit – Biolab Chemical Fire

• A judge asked Georgia’s Supreme Court to decide if residents near Biolab in Conyers can seek long-term medical monitoring damages without showing current symptoms, stemming from last year's major chemical fire ([08:05]).

  “Georgia law is unclear on medical monitoring without proof of current injury.” – Pamela Kirkland ([08:05])

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Uncertainty and chaos is the enemy of investment.” – Dede Caldwell ([15:22])
• “What is our secret to success in Florida? Warm climate and low taxes.” – (Committee session, quoting Florida’s Governor; ([02:18]))
• “Would you want a data center in your backyard?” – Buddy Falk, raising rural concerns ([07:06])
• “Hyundai’s announcement indicates the raid will not deter the company’s plans to invest in the Bryan county site.” – Orlando Montoya ([16:53])

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Hyundai Expansion & Immigration Raid – [00:44], [08:46]–[15:57]
• Push to End State Income Tax – [01:30]–[02:24]
• Emory University Financial Aid Initiative – [02:48]–[03:29]
• Medicaid Program Costs – [04:57]
• Data Center Development Debates (Troup & Twiggs counties) – [05:45]–[07:25]
• Biolab Environmental Lawsuit – [08:05]
• Dede Caldwell In-depth Interview – [09:57]–[15:57]
• Governor Brian Kemp on Future of Investment – [16:08]

---

Episode Tone and Language

The episode’s tone is measured, informative, and accessible, with a focus on factual reporting and expert analysis. Guest Dede Caldwell speaks plainly about the business climate and labor challenges, while local voices reflect a mix of optimism and concern.

---

Conclusion

This episode presents a cross-section of the economic, political, and educational currents shaping Georgia’s present and future, with in-depth commentary on workforce issues, the complexity of foreign investment in an era of immigration scrutiny, debates on tax policy, and major initiatives aimed at educational equity.

Transcript

[Orlando Montoya]

Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today Podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Hyundai has announced that it will continue expanding its facility in southeast Georgia. Some Georgia lawmakers are continuing the push to end the state's income tax. And Georgia's largest private university is moving to expand access to higher education.

[Dede Caldwell]

Looking at the next four years, Emory's undergraduate financial aid commitment will exceed $1 billion for the students benefiting from this program. Emory will now have one of the five most generous financial assistance programs in the nation.

[Orlando Montoya]

Today is Thursday, September 18th. I'm Orlando Montoya and this is Georgia Today. Hyundai will continue expanding its facility in Southeast Georgia with a $2.7 billion investment over the next three years, creating 3,000 new jobs. The company's adjacent Battery plant construction site was raided this month by federal immigration agents that led to the detention and deportation of more than 300 South Koreans. Hyundai's announcement indicates the raid will not deter their plans to invest in the Bryan county site. Opening of the Battery plant has been delayed due to the federal raid. Later in the podcast, we'll dive deeper into the story with Dede Caldwell, president and CEO of Global Location Strategies and one of the world's most authoritative site selection and incentive negotiations experts. Georgia lawmakers keen on ending the state's income tax heard from other states yesterday that do not have a state income tax. The largely Republican committee is studying how to abolish Georgia's 5.19% income tax. Director of Bond Finance J. Ben Watkins told the senators at the state Capitol that the absence of the income tax has driven their population growth.

[Dede Caldwell]

People have flocked to the state, remote working second homes, retirees. Why do people move to Florida?

[Governor Brian Kemp]

What is our secret to success in Florida? Warm climate and low taxes.

[Orlando Montoya]

Georgia State Senator Blake Tillery of Vidalia secured an agreement from the study committee not to impose a state tax on property or grocery sales or increase the gasoline tax to make up for the loss of state income taxes. Georgia's largest private university is moving to expand access to higher education. Emory University said yesterday that beginning in 2026, it will cover full tuition for undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year. The Atlanta institution's interim president, Leo Ward Sears, says the initiative, called Emory Advantage plus, is aimed at easing the financial burden that keeps many students from pursuing a degree.

[Dede Caldwell]

Looking at the next four years, Emory's undergraduate financial aid commitment will exceed $1 billion. For the students benefitting from this program, Emory will now have one of the five most generous financial assistance programs in the Nation.

[Orlando Montoya]

Currently, about 3,000 students receive the school's Emory Advantage scholarship, about two thirds of them getting enough to cover full tuition. Under the new program, that number will grow to 80%. Atlanta police are investigating after a rope was found hanging from a tree outside the Apex Museum for Black History on Auburn Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Officers say they responded yesterday and, out of caution, called in their Homeland Security unit. Police said there was nothing significant to report and the rope has since been removed. The incident comes as historically black colleges and universities across the Southeast recently faced a wave of bomb threats. At least six HBCUs, including Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College, both in Atlanta, halted their activities and issued alerts. Those lockdowns were later lifted. The congressional watchdog for government spending says administrative costs to implement Georgia's Pathways to Coverage program has surpassed the amount spent on health care coverage. A report from the U.S. government Accountability Office notes weaknesses in the federal government's oversight of programs like Pathways. GPB's Sophie Gradas has more on the report.

[Sophie Gradus]

The report was requested by Senate Democrats, including Senators Ossoff and Warnock. Most money spent on the Pathways program has gone to a single contractor overseeing changes to eligibility and enrollment processes. The report says the federal government covered almost 90% of those costs, or about $40 million. Data from the state suggests about $15 million less was spent on people's health care. A delay in the program's start is one reason for the increased spending. Pathways, a form of Medicaid for working adults, has reached only a fraction of its early estimates. Just over 9,000 Georgians are enrolled today. The state has requested an extension on the program. Georgia is the only state with ongoing Medicaid work requirements for For GPB News, I'm Sophie Gradus.

[Orlando Montoya]

Officials in West Georgia's Troop county have voted to impose a 90 day moratorium on new data center developments in unincorporated areas. The County Commission on Tuesday approved a resolution to pause all applications related to the establishment, development or expansion of data centers within unincorporated Troup County. LaGrange's $8 billion Project Pegasus data center is not affected by the pause. The moratorium comes amid growing concerns over water use, energy consumption, noise and light pollution linked to data centers. Meanwhile, officials in Middle Georgia's Twiggs county will vote tonight on whether to rezone a stretch of timber company land for a Data center and GPB's grant. Blankenship has that story.

[Grant Blankenship]

Developers Eagle Rock Partners want an AI data center drawing as much power as the cities of Macon and Augusta combined. In a part of Twiggs county where black bears outnumber people, some residents embraced the promise of doubling their tax base. In a Q and A session ahead of the vote with Eagle Rock's Ken Lober most feared the data center would ruin country life. Twiggs county native Buddy Falk put it to Loeber of Charlotte, North Carolina. Like, would you want a data center in your backyard?

[Orlando Montoya]

Where I live in Charlotte, I've got data centers. I've got residential locations. I would not object, falk responded.

[Grant Blankenship]

Essentially, that's easy to say when you're from a city. If approved, the development of the Tux county data center won't begin until at least 2028. For GPB news, I'm Grant Blankenship. In Jeffersonville.

[Sophie Gradus]

It's rare to find a podcast that can actually change your life. But when the show's called Life Kit, that's kind of the whole point. I'm Marielle Segarra. Three times a week on the Life Kit podcast, we guide you through a topic we could all use help with, from personal development to healthy living to managing your dinero with takeaways so you can start living what you learn right away. Escucha El Life Kit podcast from NPR.

[Orlando Montoya]

A federal judge is asking Georgia's Supreme Court to decide whether residents near the Biolab plant in Conyers can seek long term medical monitoring even if they have not shown physical symptoms. GPB's Pamela Kirkland reports.

[Pamela Kirkland]

The request comes as lawsuits continue over last year's massive chemical fire, which forced thousands to evacuate and sent toxic smoke across Rockdale county and metro Atlanta. The suits also argue Biolab's handling of pool chemicals was so dangerous the company should be held strictly liable. Judge Sarah Geraghty has allowed that claim to move forward, but says to Georgia law is unclear on medical monitoring without proof of current injury. The state's high court will now take up the question while the rest of the case proceeds in federal court. For GPB News, I'm Pamela Kirkland.

[Orlando Montoya]

Hyundai Motor company is planning to add production capacity at its sprawling manufacturing site in southeast Georgia with a $2.7 billion investment that promises to create 3,000 more jobs. The company announced the move on Thursday as part of what it called its, quote, most ambitious growth strategy ahead of a meeting of investors in New York. Governor Brian Kemp congratulated Hyundai on the announcement, writing on his social media that it reinforces Hyundai's commitment to this project and our state. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, writing on social media, wrote that the project will bring new opportunities to our workforce, bolster our infrastructure and strengthen Savannah's position as a hub for advanced manufacturing. The announcement also comes weeks after a massive immigration raid at the site rounded up hundreds of workers, caused diplomatic tension between the US And South Korea, and delayed completion of a Hyundai LG Energy Solutions battery factory. Earlier this week, I spoke with Dede Caldwell, president and CEO of Global Location Strategies, about the potential fallout from the raid. Xi and I spoke before Thursday's announcement.

[Dede Caldwell]

Hi, Glad to be here. Thank you so much.

[Orlando Montoya]

South Korea's president said last week that companies from his country might be more hesitant to invest in the US if they fear difficulty related to immigration. Given Georgia's key economic ties to Korean firms like Hyundai, SK Battery and QCells, should that hesitance worry Georgia leaders?

[Dede Caldwell]

In my opinion, it should definitely worry them. Investments like these are made after very, very careful consideration and at the end of the day it's people making these decisions and people generally like to do business with people that they trust. And so something like what happened at the Hyundai plant a couple weeks ago outside of Savannah is just one of those things that undermines the trust in the US Administration having their best interest at heart.

[Orlando Montoya]

The rate has shed light on what some are calling an open secret in the world of economic development. That is, while the US Faces a shortage of skilled labor and a murky and bureaucratic visa system, some overseas firms are sending workers to the US under various short term visas, often resulting in overstays and an improperly documented workforce. Is that open secret something that you see in companies looking to build or expand in the U.S. i don't think.

[Dede Caldwell]

That anyone, to my knowledge, is trying to circumvent immigration laws, but there is a need for specialized technicians and engineers that are experienced in these types of operations to be able to come here and transfer that knowledge into the United States. And it's very, very common and in my mind necessary that this happens because these companies are trying to basically do a copy exact model of what they already have successfully operating and that takes institutional knowledge to be able to do that. We just don't have that type of knowledge here in the United States. So in my opinion it would be in everyone's best interest if the US Government and these companies could work together to figure out what is the best path to allow that transfer of knowledge that brings a lot of intellectual property and a lot of goodwill to the United States and employs people here in the most efficient and law abiding way.

[Orlando Montoya]

Your company helps industrial and manufacturing companies with location strategy. When you talk with them about the relative strengths and weaknesses of Georgia's workforce. What do you tell them about the availability to quickly find qualified workers here?

[Dede Caldwell]

Well, I mean, as you know, Georgia is a big state, and so labor availability and skills will vary from location to location. I would say that generally speaking, across the United States, we have a shortage of skilled workers either in construction or in operations. In particular, things like maintenance and mechatronics. But Georgia fares pretty well. You know, I've been doing this for 27 years, and it used to be considered like the low cost south and our skills and the skills that are associated with the south. But also the. The labor rates have normalized to a certain extent, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just shows that we're moving up the value chain. But I do think that one of the things that Georgia definitely has going for it is. Well, actually two things. One is that it's a right to work state, and so that tends to have a more friendly labor management relations. The other thing is that Georgia has very strong technical college system and a state incentive program called Quick Start, which will help companies like Hyundai and any other company, domestic or foreign, come in and identify, recruit, and train the workers that they need so that they can get up and running and operating as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

[Orlando Montoya]

Georgia has been getting a lot of these advanced technology factories in recent years, especially in the electric energy industries. These factories need highly trained engineers and equipment installers with certain technical skills. At the same time, they need workers with skills like concrete pouring, carpentry, pipe fitting and the like to build the sites. Do you see a difference in how easy it is to get the high tech workers versus the construction workers domestically?

[Dede Caldwell]

Well, about 40% of the construction workers in the United States are immigrants and with various levels of documentation. And there's a fear for sure among the immigrant community, whether or not they're documented, that they may be subject to an ICE detention. And so I think that that is causing exacerbated issues. I mean, we're already facing labor shortages, but I think that this fear is sometimes causing workers in that industry to either not show up at work, or sometimes rumors get around that there might be a raid coming and then it's a mass exodus. And these are people with documentation and without documentation.

[Orlando Montoya]

So bottom line, what do the companies that you talk to want when it comes to their investments and immigration policy?

[Dede Caldwell]

Well, what they want more than anything is that they want certainty. Uncertainty and chaos is the enemy of investment. And right now we're in a state of chaos not just associated with immigration, but also associated with terrorists, chaos associated with monetary and fiscal policy. So we just are trying to understand the rules of the game and we're having to do a lot more scenario planning than we would have in the past. The difference between the best case scenario and the worst case scenario has grown by an order of magnitude.

[Orlando Montoya]

That's Dede Caldwell of Global Location Strategies. She joins me from Greenville, South Carolina. Thanks for speaking with us here at gpb.

[Dede Caldwell]

Thank you so much. Happy to do it.

[Orlando Montoya]

Governor Brian Kemp says he does not expect the Hyundai raid to deter companies from locating in Georgia. He spoke to reporters on Tuesday at the groundbreaking for the Rivian Electric vehicle plant in east of Atlanta.

[Governor Brian Kemp]

I've had good conversations with companies that are here doing business in Georgia, companies that are looking to do business here. And I've had good conversations with people in the White House about the visa issue. A lot of companies across the country have dealt with that issue. And that's really one of the things that Donald Trump ran on when he ran for president was cutting red tape, trying to be more efficient. And I think this is one of those times where, you know, something good will come out of this in the end to help address the problem that, you know, a lot more companies than just Hyundai are having.

[Orlando Montoya]

Hyundai's announcement indicates the raid will not deter the company's plans to invest in the Bryan county site. And that's it for today's edition of GEORGIA today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit gpb.org news if you haven't yet hit subscribe on the podcast, take a moment to do that now. It'll help you keep us current in your feed. And if you have feedback, send that to us, Georgia todaypb.org We'd love to hear it. I'm Orlando Montoya. We'll be back again tomorrow with another episode of GEORGIA today.