Thousands of unionized Hyundai auto workers began walking off the job early after negotiations with the South Korean automaker broke down over plans to deploy humanoid robots—the most significant pushback from organized labor so far over the latest wave of robotic automation.

The partial strike at Hyundai’s automotive production complex in the city of Ulsan in South Korea represents “the car industry’s first factory stoppage addressing humanoid robots,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Workers have already ended their day and night shifts two hours early at the world’s largest automotive plant from July 13 through July 15, and plan to start staging four-hour strikes from July 20 to 22 after 15 rounds of negotiations failed to reach an agreement, The Korea Times reported.

Union pushback began as soon as Hyundai Motor Group unveiled the latest version of the Atlas humanoid robot, a two-legged robot that stands at more than 6 feet tall and can lift more than 100 pounds, at the start of this year. Atlas is made by Boston Dynamics, the US robotics company that is about to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai.

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South Korea’s government and top tech companies are committing $1 trillion to several flagship megaprojects that could bolster global memory chip supply, build new AI data centers, and spur commercial deployment of humanoid robots by 2028.

The announcement comes as South Korean companies such as Samsung and SK Hynix have enjoyed record profits and stock valuations due to the AI industry’s demand for memory chips—with the subsequent supply strain leading to memory chip shortages and higher prices for consumer electronics. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Company is racing to mass-manufacture humanoid robots developed by its subsidiary, Boston Dynamics, so that the robotic workers can start taking over certain laborious tasks in automotive factories and other workplaces.

“We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in a televised speech on June 29, as reported by BBC News and other media outlets. “Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers are the triple axis for a great leap forward."

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