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Electronics Production |
SK Innovation accelerates hiring at its first US EV battery site
With the support of the State of Georgia, Jackson County and City of Commerce, SK Innovation has announced it plans to hire more than 1'000 skilled American workers by the end of 2021 as it prepares for initial production at the first of two electric vehicle battery plants being built in Commerce, about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta, Georgia.
In one of the largest economic projects in Georgia's history, SK Innovation affirmed its long-range investment plans for the facility that would make Georgia one of the largest hubs of EV battery manufacturing in the world.
SK Innovation recently reached a hiring milestone with the on-boarding of its first 60 employees at the Commerce site. These employees include production supervisors, production/process/electrical engineers and quality/logistics specialists who will set up, work and serve as the trainers for the EV battery production workforce at the two SK Battery America plants under construction at the site, a press release reads.
SK Innovation also recently achieved key construction milestones at the Georgia site with the completion of the exterior of its first manufacturing plant and ground breaking on the second plant. Together, the two SK Battery America plants will have capacity to make enough battery cells each year to power the equivalent of more than 300'000 electric vehicles.
"If you drive along I-85 northeast of Atlanta, you can't miss the progress taking shape at the new SK Innovation facilities in Jackson County. With today's announcements, SK Innovation is well on their way to fulfilling the $2.6 billion investment commitment and 2,600 promised jobs they will create in our state," says Commissioner Pat Wilson of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, in the press release. "The electric vehicle battery plant underway in Commerce will put Georgia in the driver's seat for the next era of the auto industry and ensure our economy keeps growing at a time when we need jobs most."
The South Korean company is building two EV battery plants at the Georgia site as part of a USD 2.6 billion investment in its US battery business that will directly create more than 2'600 permanent jobs in the Jackson County area by 2024. The first SK Battery America plant is scheduled to begin initial operations in 2021 with mass production in 2022. A second plant at the same site is expected to begin mass production in 2023.
The new jobs that will be created in Jackson County include a range of technical roles from production operators to senior engineers focused on manufacturing highly sophisticated lithium-ion battery cells at scale. To help begin the process of hiring and training workers, SK Battery America has signed a partnership agreement with Quick Start and Lanier Technical College in Georgia.
SK Battery America, SK Innovation's U.S. subsidiary, began initial hiring and training this year of employees at the Georgia site with plans to have more than 150 employees by the end of this year. It anticipates hiring another 900 employees next year.
