CarMax to add 500 jobs in metro Atlanta

Nationally, tens of millions of used cars are sold each year. CarMax says its retail operations accounted for about 722,000 of those sales last year. The company also sold 409,000 vehicles in auctions. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Nationally, tens of millions of used cars are sold each year. CarMax says its retail operations accounted for about 722,000 of those sales last year. The company also sold 409,000 vehicles in auctions. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

CarMax is adding more than 500 jobs in metro Atlanta, according to a joint announcement Tuesday from the company and Gov. Brian Kemp.

CarMax, an auto sales company based in Richmond, Va., will be hiring workers for a range of jobs in Peachtree Corners and Kennesaw.

The 300-worker Peachtree Corners facility is part of a beefed-up strategy by the company aimed at giving potential customers more choices about how to buy a car.

A customer can now buy a car from home and have it delivered, officials said.

The company wants one-third of those employees to be fluent in both English and Spanish.

Employees in the “contact center” will handle phones and internet interactions, according the company. Those are choices that CarMax plans to offer within a year to a majority of its customers nationwide, company officials said.

In Kennesaw, the company will be expanding headquarters for auto finance operations.

"Atlanta is one of our oldest and most important markets," said Diane Cafritz, chief human resources officer for CarMax, in a statement. "We've found a strong and diverse talent pipeline in the area."

CarMax, established in 1993, grew a national network to sell used cars. In metro Atlanta, the company has seven locations and about 2,000 employees.

CarMax last year had annual revenue of roughly $16 billion. It says its retail operations accounted for about 722,000 vehicle sales in the past year. The company also sold 409,000 vehicles in auctions.

Kemp praised the CarMax service and said the announcement represented a good opportunity for local workers.

The announcements included endorsements from Partnership Gwinnett project manager Megan Wing, Gwinnett County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash, Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Hala Moddelmog, Georgia Department of Economic Development Sr. Project Manager Randall Toussaint and Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

To apply for CarMax jobs, click here.