The Hyundai-LG Metaplant in Georgia is a joint battery production facility set up by the two South Korean giants. Representing at least $7.6 billion in direct investment, it's the largest economic development project in Georgia's history; it's expected to provide 8,500 jobs directly at the plant and 40,000 direct/indirect jobs statewide, bringing in a total of $4.6 billion a year. In short, once it's up and running, it will be good for the U.S. economy.

So I was surprised to learn that an immigration raid on the plant arrested over 300 South Korean workers. These were predominantly engineers and technical specialists, brought over by Hyundai subcontractors to install equipment for the battery and production line. "No company in the U.S. makes the machines that are used in the Georgia battery plant," an immigration lawyer told PBS, "so they had to come from abroad to install or repair equipment on-site — work that would take about three to five years to train someone in the U.S. to do."

The issue appears to be that the arrested workers were here on B-1 business visitor visas, but that the installation and repairs were taking longer than the visa period. However Christi Hulme, an American labor leader in Savannah, says local unions "believe Korean workers have been pouring cement, erecting steel, performing carpentry and fitting pipes."

"Basically our labor was being given to illegal immigrants," Hulme said, without providing evidence. ( I have a hard time believing Hyundai saved money by flying people over from Korea, and putting them up in a hotel, to do carpentry and plumbing.)

In any case, this post isn't about immigration, although that raid falls neatly into our culture of sensationalized news. And hot-button sensationalized news provides a gigantic distraction from a much quieter, yet far more radical occurrence that recently happened at another foreign automaker's plant in the American South.

At BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant, humanoid robot company Figure has been running trials with their 'bots working on the production line. And they've set a record: A Figure 02 robot successfully completed a 20-hour continuous shift handling sheet metal panels, and it did it autonomously.

To be clear: The robot worked two shifts. Without taking a coffee break. Without going to the bathroom. Without stopping to eat, check its phone or field calls from its kids.

At press time, you could find a lot of media ink spilled about the Metaplant immigration raid. But you can't find any news of any labor unions protesting the robot that flawlessly worked a double shift. You'd think we'd see at least one labor leader saying "Basically our labor will be given to robots."