Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel is recruiting for nearly 40 open positions at the site of its forthcoming steel facility near Donaldsonville, the first wave of hiring for a project the company says will ultimately bring 1,300 direct jobs to Ascension Parish by 2029. The roles span engineering, logistics, supply chain management, operations, finance, human resources and information technology, giving local workers an early entry point into a plant still years from full operation.
The $5.8 billion facility, described by the company as a landmark investment, is currently under construction in the Donaldsonville area, according to WBRZ. The specific list of open roles was detailed by New Orleans CityBusiness, which reported that available positions include engineering, logistics, supply chain management, operations, finance, human resources and information technology. Stephanie Malin, a media relations representative for Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel, said jobs created during the three years before the plant opens will generate economic opportunity for local residents, as reported by WGNO.
Company representatives say Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel is focused on local recruiting and investment in area suppliers, and the company has awarded 70% of the contracts it has signed so far to local vendors, per the same WGNO report. The company expects additional hiring as construction and project development progress, and anticipates further hiring as construction and operations continue to move forward.
Hiring Timeline Stretches Into 2029
The nearly 40 current openings are just the start. Weekly Citizen reports that HPLS plans to hire 1,300 direct roles within the company for its site between now and 2029, according to the Weekly Citizen. Separately, 1012 Industry Report states the company ultimately expects to employ roughly 1,400 workers at the facility, according to 1012 Industry Report — the dossier does not clarify whether the two figures reflect different phases of hiring or different definitions of the workforce.
According to the same 1012 Industry Report account, the biggest hiring wave will come in 2028, when the company starts adding production employees. The Business Report adds more texture to the ramp-up, noting that HPLS plans to bring on between 230 and 300 employees by the end of 2027 before hiring accelerates the following year, per Business Report. Hyundai Motor Group has said the steel mill is expected to create 5,400 jobs in total, including 1,300 direct positions, and that commercial production is expected to begin in 2029, according to a Hyundai Motor Group announcement.
A Riverfront Mega-Project With Conflicting Numbers
The facility's footprint is described differently depending on the source. Hyundai-POSCO's own site states the plant is located on approximately 1,822 acres within the RiverPlex MegaPark adjacent to the Mississippi River, according to HYUNDAI-POSCO Louisiana Steel. The Advocate, however, reports the plant will be built on approximately 1,700 acres in the RiverPlex MegaPark near Modeste, per The Advocate — the discrepancy was not resolved in available reporting.
Once completed, the mill is expected to produce 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually, The Advocate reports. The company says the plant will rely on electric-arc-furnace technology to produce automotive steel with roughly 70% fewer carbon dioxide emissions than conventional methods, according to the Hyundai Motor Group announcement. Louisiana offered incentives worth roughly $2.6 billion to land the project in the state, per The Advocate's reporting.
Workforce Pipeline Taking Shape
HPLS is collaborating with Louisiana State University and River Parishes Community College to build out workforce training programs ahead of the hiring surge, according to the Hyundai Motor Group announcement. The company also hosted three site visits for Louisiana community leaders to Kia's West Point facility between November 2025 and March 2026 to showcase the kind of regional job and workforce impacts a major auto-sector plant can bring, per HYUNDAI-POSCO Louisiana Steel's own account.
Those workforce gains would land in a parish that has already been growing. Ascension Parish's civilian labor force grew by roughly 11,000 people, or 20%, from 2012 to 2022, and the parish added more than 6,000 people to its prime working-age population between 2010 and 2020, according to the Ascension Economic Development Corporation.
Longtime Resident Sees a Generational Shift
For some near Donaldsonville, the stakes are personal. John Beck, a local business owner born and raised in the area who has lived in his home for more than 25 years, told WGNO that a lack of local development has long pushed young adults and professionals to seek careers elsewhere. He said the new facility could create a generational economic shift for residents and their children, a sentiment that underscores why the hiring news is resonating well beyond the plant's eventual workforce.
The new facility is scheduled to open within the next three years, according to WGNO's reporting, meaning the early hiring now underway will shape who is positioned to benefit once production begins. With roughly 40 positions open today and 1,300 or more direct jobs projected over the coming years, HPLS says it expects additional hiring as construction and project development continue to progress.
