In the biggest hiring effort at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant since 2012, the German automaker is adding 200 new production posts related to its $900 million expansion.
The slots are the first production jobs of the 2,000 new positions the company is creating in Chattanooga in connection with its upcoming sport utility vehicle, said Mario Duarte, a VW human resources manager.
"Hiring starts immediately and we expect to fill them within the next 10 weeks," he said of the 200 jobs.
The new workers will be employed by a VW contractor, Aerotek, for at least the first six months, Duarte said. After that time period, they're eligible to become VW employees, he said.
Mario Duarte, with VW Chattanooga's staff, speaks to attendees during a conference about diversity in the workplace.To apply
Go to www.aerotektn.com or www.vwjobschattanooga.com
"It's the way to become VW production employees," Duarte said.
At first, the workers will be handling parts and delivering them to the assembly line that's making the Passat midsize sedan, he said. Production of the new SUV isn't slated until late 2016.
Lucas Hiler, an Aerotek strategic account executive, said the staffing company is starting fresh in terms of taking applications for the VW production jobs.
He said the hiring process is a simple online application in which candidates are asked about work hours and their job expectations.
"If everything goes OK on the application, then they're called in for an interview," Hiler said. A drug and background check are included, he said.
If hired, workers initially earn an average of $11.50 an hour with increases every six months along with bonus opportunities, Hiler said.
Duarte said that once hired by VW, production employees earn $15.50 an hour to start. He added that about 80 percent of production employees now earn in the $20 an hour range.
VW spokesman Scott Wilson said about 1,000 employees at VW first worked for Aerotek before gaining full-time jobs with the automaker.
"It's the natural path to employment," he said. "The system is working well for us."
Duarte said the hiring is a reflection of VW's continued growth in the U.S.
"It's an exciting time for us," he said.
Already, Volkswagen has started hiring for about 130 engineers and technicians who are to work at its engineering and planning center in Chattanooga by 2017.
Plans eventually are to hire at least 200 engineers and technicians at the center where VW officials hope to centralize its engineering and planning in North America.
VW officially started work on its plant expansion in January to increase the factory's size by more than 500,000 square feet. It later decided to add another 130,153 square feet in order to increase its body shop.
That will boost the size of the original plant expansion by about 25 percent.
VW now employs about 2,400 people in the city.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.