HAMBURG, Germany -- The government of Hungary's far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for his tough anti-immigration stance, recently curtailed plans to let hundreds of thousands of workers into the country to serve Chinese battery makers and other manufacturers after strong opposition from the electorate in an ironic reversal.
Orban has always resisted opening Hungary's doors to migrants who arrive on Europe's shores, and he has long been a thorn to more liberal compatriots in the European Union. But his plan to refashion Hungary as Europe's second-largest electric vehicle battery manufacturing hub after Germany requires boosting the labor force by 500,000 skilled and unskilled workers for companies, such as Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), setting up shop there. A large proportion of that number will have to come from overseas.
