Kia to hire additional 1,200 workers

By Dan Chapman

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

West Point, Ga. – Kia Motors, which began making Sorento cross-over vehicles last month, announced Tuesday it will hire another 1,200 factory workers for a second production line.

Hiring begins in early 2010. By year’s end, Kia will employ nearly 2,500 people at its $1 billion factory along Interstate 85 outside this old textile town along the Chattahoochee River. The production and maintenance workers will earn between $14.90 and $ 20.80 an hour.

Unlike the first hiring go-round which lasted 30 days, Kia will accept applications indefinitely, said spokeswoman Joanne Mabrey. Previous job candidates who weren’t hired are encouraged to re-apply.

“Hopefully people with strong applications before will have even stronger applications now,” Mabrey said.

Kia, which will hold a ceremonial first car roll-out Nov. 16, hopes to hire “industrial athletes,” according to Randy Jackson, the company’s director of human resources, nimble blue-collar workers able to handle a multitude of production tasks.

Successful applicants will undergo interviews, a 40-hour pre-employment assessment and additional screening and tests before hiring.

On-line applications are available at www.KiaJobsInGeorgia.com.