Daimler Trucks North America Feb. 14 announced it plans to add 628 new positions in its Mt. Holly and Gastonia, N.C., manufacturing plants to accommodate rising customer demand and expanding production schedules.
Officials also confirmed the company will add about 1,300 total jobs at all of its truck and parts manufacturing facilities during the first half of the year.
The Mt. Holly Truck Manufacturing Plant plans to fill 447 new manufacturing and 27 plant-based administrative positions beginning in mid-March. The Mt. Holly plant manufactures Freightliner M2 Business Class medium-duty, hybrid, and natural gas trucks.
The Gastonia Parts Manufacturing Plant plans to add 149 manufacturing jobs and five related administrative positions from February to May to support increased network build rates. The 628 new positions will sharply increase daily production at both facilities.
Planned 2011 hiring will also include approximately 600 positions in DTNA’s Mexico manufacturing plants in Santiago and Saltillo to help meet production and customer delivery schedules for the company’s medium and heavy-duty product lines.
“We have received a clear vote of confidence from a broad range of customers,” said Martin Daum, president and chief executive officer, DTNA. “Our new hiring in Mt. Holly and Gastonia is a direct reflection of incoming orders and the resulting production schedule. We remain cautiously optimistic regarding economic and industry recovery but this is a significant and welcome step forward.”
Previously, the company reinstated more than 1,600 manufacturing and related administrative positions throughout the company’s manufacturing network since January 2010, to meet increased customer demand. New collective bargaining agreements were reached in 2010 with all the company’s U.S. plants.
