Kia to open plant in Georgia, add more than 5,000 jobs

<p>South Korean automaker Kia Motors Corp. will open a $1.2 billion plant in Georgia, creating almost 5,500 new jobs in the state, officials announced Sunday night.</p><p>Cars will begin rolling off the plant's two assembly lines in August 2008. The two million square foot plant will be in West Point, Ga., a town of 4,000 along the near the Alabama border. It will be Kia's first U.S. manufacturing plant. Kia's parent company, Hyundai Motor Company, already has a plant in Montgomery, Ala. Proximity to that site _ combined with a $258 million incentive package from the state _ helped woo Kia executives.</p><p>Gov. Sonny Perdue arrived in Seoul, South Korea over the weekend to sign off on the deal.</p><p>Perdue said Kia's decision to locate in the state "is a testament to the tools, experience and know-how Georgia will deliver to one of the automotive industry's leading innovators."</p><p>The plant will hire 2,893 workers when it opens at an average annual salary of $50,000. Another 2,600 employees are expected to work at five supply companies, which have committed to place plants in Georgia near West Point to feed parts and materials to the main plant.</p><p>Kia President and chief executive officer E.S. Chung said the company, which produces budget sedans and sports utility vehicles, "has entered an aggressive growth phase in the U.S."</p><p>The Georgia plant is expected to produce 300,000 to 400,000 vehicles annually.</p><p>The arrival of Kia is welcome news for Georgia, which has been hit hard by Ford and General Motors' decisions to shutter their plants in the state as well as job slashing at corporate stalwarts BellSouth and Delta.</p><p>"This is the best news that Georgia has heard in a long time," Rajeev Dhawan, Director of Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University, said.</p><p>Dhawan said the pay scale was impressive and that such "premium" blue collar jobs have become increasingly rare.</p><p>"The only ones coming online are through the foreign auto plants," he said.</p><p>Dhawan noted that auto workers from the Ford plant in Hapeville and the GM plant in Doraville might be able to put their skills to work at the new plant, although many might have to relocate to do so.</p><p>The jobs also provide a boost for Perdue, who is facing re-election this year and has been under attack for lackluster employment numbers.</p><p>The Republican governor began courting the automaker with an October 2003 visit to South Korea. In January he hosted Kia's president at the state Capitol.</p><p>Mississippi and Tennessee had also been pursuing the plant.</p><p>Local officials in Georgia cheered the announcement saying it would provide a major boost.</p><p>"Not only will Kia bring jobs, it will drive the creation of an industry cluster that will help ensure future prosperity for the entire area," Diethard Lindner, chairman of the Development Authority of LaGrange, said.</p><p>The new Kia plant will build two vehicle lines and include and engine assembly line, paint shop training center and visitor center. It will be built on 3,300 acre site at the intersection of I-85 and Webb Road in Troup County. A new interchange will be built off I-85 to make room for the plant.</p><p>The hefty state incentive package includes $75.9 million in job tax credits over five years, $20.2 million for a job training center on the site and $60.5 million to purchase and prepare the site.</p><p>West Point and Troup County are offering up $130 million in property tax abatements over 15 years.</p><p>A groundbreaking ceremony for the plant is scheduled for April 25.</p><p>Kia Motors America reported selling 18,110 vehicles in January, up 6 percent from January 2005. For 2005, Kia's auto sales increased about 2.5 percent to 275,851 from 270,055.</p><p>The company has opened a U.S. headquarters in Irvine, Calif. that houses the company's research and development and administrative operations.</p>

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