Chattanooga company, OmniSource Staffing, hiring for auto supplier

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A staffing company in Chattanooga says it's aiming to hire 320 people for an automotive supplier in the city.

Tiffany Lewis, branch manager for OmniSource Staffing, said plans are to hire 80 people a week over the next month or so.

While she declined to name the company, some suppliers to Volkswagen's assembly plant in the city are ramping up hiring as the automaker brings on a third team of employees to produce even more Passat sedans.

Lewis said the company it's supporting is looking at hiring packers and forklift operators. Packers will start at $9 per hour while the operators are to earn $10.50, she said.

"They've already got a facility up and running," Lewis said about the supplier.

VW supplier Team 3 Logistics has said it's planning to add about 150 workers, while Chattanooga Seating Systems announced it's also looking to add staff .

Andy Smith, chief operating officer of Team 3 partner Kenco Group, said it probably will have to look at about 300 or so prospects to find the 150 it will need. He said it uses OmniSource as a staffing service, and it likes to utilize the temp-to-hire model.

J.Ed. Marston, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president of marketing, said that landing supplier jobs is one of the upsides to wooing Volkswagen to the city.

"We also knew that as VW grew and expanded, that suppliers would add investment and jobs," he said. "That's one reason why a project like [VW] is so desirable."

VW is hiring 1,000 workers by the end of the year, pushing its head count to about 3,500.

The car maker is adding not only to its workforce but extending its hours of operation.

Officials have said that while plans are to maintain two shifts a day, the plant will add Saturday production. Also, the factory will move to a four-day, 10-hour-a-day schedule for employees around midyear.

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