Supplier to hire 630 near Hyundai’s EV plant in Georgia

An auto parts manufacturer plans to hire 630 workers at a new factory in southeast Georgia to supply Hyundai Motor Group’s first U.S. electric vehicle plant that’s under construction nearby, state officials said Monday.

Joon Georgia will invest $317 million to produce parts in Bulloch County, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said in a news release. The supplier will open shop roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of the southeast Georgia site where Hyundai executives broke ground on the new EV plant two weeks ago.

The company is “the first of many” expected to come to Georgia to supply the $5.5 billion Hyundai plant in Bryan County, Kemp said in a statement. The automaker plans to open its Georgia plant in 2025, producing up to 300,000 electric vehicles per year.

Joon Georgia is a subsidiary of Ajin USA, which supplies parts to other Hyundai plants. It already operates a facility in Cusseta, Alabama, near the Georgia line that makes parts for Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery, Alabama, as well as for Kia’s auto plant in West Point, Georgia.

The Joon Georgia factory near the Hyundai EV plant is expected to open near Statesboro in mid-2024, Kemp’s office said.

“Joon Georgia’s announcement today is a landmark moment as we drive Georgia’s automotive industry into the future,” said Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, in a statement.

State and local officials in Georgia lured Hyundai with tax breaks and incentives worth $1.8 billion, making it the state’s largest economic development deal.

Wilson and other Georgia officials have insisted it’s a worthwhile investment. In addition to Hyundai hiring 8,100 workers, suppliers are expected to create thousands of additional jobs in the state.

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