Good morning, CFOs. Fallout from the Hyundai Motor raid; can the U.S. dollar maintain its position as the world’s reserve currency?; plus, the boss move for ordinary workers.

Hyundai Motor, the South Korean auto giant, had been on a roll. Hyundai sold a record number of vehicles in the U.S. in the first half of 2025. With sibling automaker Kia, the Hyundai Motor Group ranks as the world’s No. 3 automaker by vehicles sold, and in recent years, the South Korean brands have racked up industry awards for design, technology and quality, report my colleagues Christopher Otts and Timothy W. Martin.

Moreover, the company’s new assembly plant in Georgia is a point of pride for the company and for the state. President Trump called Hyundai a great company and held it up as proof his tariff strategy is working, which makes last week’s raid of its Georgia plant all the more puzzling.

A search warrant was granted for the raid, and according to the warrant, the initial targets were four Hispanic workers. Ultimately, 475 workers were rounded up by immigration officials and more than 300—mostly South Korean nationals—were detained, as the U.S. carried out its largest single-site immigration raid ever. The federal raid overshadows Hyundai’s winning streak, and the company now finds itself scrutinized by a U.S. government it has worked so hard to appease.

The WSJ report points out that the raid won’t crush the Korean carmaker, particularly because the auto giant makes most of its money from gas-powered vehicles unaffected by the raid of the unfinished EV-battery plant. Still, it surely will have a chilling effect, and cause company executives to think twice about foreign investments going forward.

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

✏️ How might the Hyundai raid affect the willingness of foreign companies to do business in the U.S.? Join the conversation at the end of the story here.

• Hyundai Raid Will Delay Georgia Battery Plant Construction by Months
• U.S. Frees Hundreds of South Koreans Without Handcuffs After Immigration Raid

📈 Economic Indicators

The University of Michigan releases its Consumer Sentiment survey for September.

Is the U.S. dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency on shaky ground?

Some people think so, pointing to President Trump’s tariffs, America’s growing debt and its use of financial sanctions as a foreign-policy tool. Russia, barred from using the dollar in 2022, has shifted to using the Chinese renminbi for its international transactions. Other countries are exploring alternatives, as well, amid concerns that America’s outsize engagement in the global economy could end and debt will force the Federal Reserve to keep policy rates low, fueling inflation and dollar depreciation.

To many others, however, such claims seem far-fetched. The very fact that the U.S. currency is so widely used, and that the U.S. economy is so large, means its international role is secure.

But those espousing this Panglossian perspective forget that the dollar lost its primacy once before. It is a story worth retelling.

📈 Earnings wrapup

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The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

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