SK Innovation speeds hiring at its first US EV battery plant in Georgia

SK Innovation has announced 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 EV battery plants being built in Commerce, about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta. 

SK Innovation is building two EV battery plants at the Georgia site as part of a $2.6-billion investment in its US battery business. The first SK Battery America plant is scheduled to begin initial operations in 2021, and to achieve mass production in 2022. A second plant at the same site is expected to begin mass production in 2023. 

The company recently hired its first 60 employees at the Commerce site. These 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 site’s two plants.

The newly-created jobs include a range of technical roles, from production operators to senior engineers focused on manufacturing Li-ion battery cells at scale. To help begin the process of hiring and training workers, SK Battery America has partnered with Quick Start and Lanier Technical College in Georgia.

SK Innovation has also completed the exterior of its first manufacturing plant and broken ground on the second plant. The company says its two plants will have the capacity to make enough battery cells each year to power over 300,000 EVs.

“At a time when the global economy is facing unprecedented challenges, we are committed to doing our part to drive economic development and recovery in the region and, at an individual level, provide area residents an exciting path forward for career development,” said SK Innovation CEO Jun Kim. “We are working with a variety of partners and local academic institutions to train and recruit new workers that will help us achieve a competitive advantage in the EV industry.”

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