Kia-Ville, Georgia: A small town catches a big break
Filed under: Company News, Economy
West Point, Georgia -- population 3,500 -- was a small town with big troubles. Although its 8.6 percent unemployment rate put it below the state average of 9.7 percent, it was still facing recessionary problems that seem all too common. When the town's textile mills closed in the 1990s, the population began to leak away and business began shuttering their doors; the recent downturn only accelerated its decline. While not yet a ghost town, West Point was definitely on its way off the map.Recently, however, West Point received some very good news. Kia, the Korean carmaker, has announced plans to open a $1.2 billion, 2,200-acre industrial park. The first new building -- a factory that will construct the Kia Sorento Sport -- has already hired 500 workers. By the time it opens, the carmaker hopes to have 2,000 more employees. With a proposed group of auto-parts factories that will employ 7,500 more workers, Kia plans to bring 20,000 jobs to the small town.
Kia's announcement has already sent ripples through the town's economy as new workers and businesses have moved here. Suddenly, a small town on its way out is poised to become a major regional employment center. (One of the new businesses is, happily, a Korean barbecue restaurant.)
While Kia's move to Georgia is particularly significant, it's hardly uncommon. Hoping to tap into tax breaks and regional pride, foreign auto manufacturers have increasingly begun moving their operations to the U.S. Cars.com, which tracks the degree to which cars are manufactured in the U.S., reports that only five of the top ten American-made cars are produced by Detroit's big three automakers. The rest, including the no. 1-ranked Toyota Camry, are Japanese-owned.
With foreign manufacturers increasingly creating American jobs -- and domestic carmakers like Chrysler getting bailed out by foreign manufacturers -- it's become almost impossible to draw a conclusive line between American and Japanese cars. It looks like toughest competitors of the American car industry may well be its ultimate saviors.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
7-09-2009 @ 8:36PM
Patrick A Gordon said...
I find it so amazing that foreign car companies are coming here and building plants, and paying excellent hourly wages, while General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are moving all of their operations out to other Countries which has destroyed their quality, and costing them their market shares. The biggest difference is Executive salaries, which are killing the American Auto Industry. General Motors can get rid of 2/3's of their executives because they are so top heavy, and would most likely become more productive. GM's biggest outlay of money is to their Executives who provide no monetary services to the Company, and therefore are dead weight. It is a sin that the largest automaker in America is Toyota, who is now building plants in Detroit, where GM, and Ford said they couldn't do business?
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7-11-2009 @ 1:00PM
MNGO said...
Amen. You hit the nail right on the head. The problem with our economy is not the foreign competition, nor the american worker, but the american management that has gotten to lazy in their thinking. Kick the bumbs out.
7-12-2009 @ 2:30AM
bubba said...
toyota is not builing plants in detroit, they have a technology center in Ann Arbor, where "educated people" buy foreign cars. You Can learn through education, but you cannot teach common sense. And these people wonder why their kids can't find a job after spending thousand on an education.... Look in the mirror stupid.
7-12-2009 @ 8:26AM
Linda Schulz said...
WHY IS IT THAT OUR CONGRESS DOES NOT DO SOMETHING TO RETURN THIS COUNTRY TO THE GREAT PLACE IT WAS WHEN THE MEN AND WOMEN BELIEVED IN COMMON SENSE AND LIVED IT, I GREW UP IN THE TIME WHEN WE MADE PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACCTIONS, TIME FOR EVERYONE TO WORK TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT AGAIN AND STOP GIVING EVERYONE THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE SYSTEM PRIDE AND HARD WORK TO RESTORE US TO GREATNESS LET THE AUTOMAKERS STAY IN EUROPE AND WE WILLKEEP THE FACTORIES THAT MAKE US PRODUCTIVE ONCE AGAIN.
7-12-2009 @ 12:48PM
who knows said...
The Lawyers and Politicians, are the bottom line
7-13-2009 @ 9:02AM
dick said...
Toyota building plants in Detroit? Where do some of you people get your information? Toyota has been killing Detroit, no thanks to a bunch of anti-American Japanese supporters, who insist on buying foreign cars. And contrary to what you Jap supporters are trying to make people believe, GM has a lot more plants in America, with a far higher American parts content than these foreign automakers. Toyota would never build a plant in Detroit, when they can exploit cheap southern labor like the other foreign automakers do. Check your facts before you write.
7-09-2009 @ 8:45PM
Joey said...
Glad for the little town. Chattanooga is building a new VW plant. NO UAW!
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7-11-2009 @ 4:47PM
J said...
UAW made sure its members were paid more than they deserved, but never cared about the quality of cars they made. I switched to Honda in the mid 1970s after my new Oldsmobile developed a serious engine trouble. During the last 34 years I owned five Hondas and have never sent any one back to the dealer as result of a recall. Like the American saying: you can fool some people for some time.
7-09-2009 @ 8:52PM
Jackie Butler said...
Ya'll have been talking about the Kia plant in West Point for some two years now but when will Joe Citizen get hired? It does no good to announce so-called job fairs and show the turn out when no one has been employed except for the upper managment crew! As for Lance in Columbus ( 25 minute drive south of West Point ) hiring 70 positions ( not until 5 more months ) and NCR ( an ATM producer hiring next year in Columbus ) it's the same thing. You want to impress us, want to show an upswing in this lousy economy -particularly here in the deepest South? Hire us now, then post your report on a million happy Southerners who finally can get out of Salvation Army and off Food Stamps and get real medical insurance and dental as opposed to the health departments plan of " call us back in 6 months and we'll work you in"!
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7-11-2009 @ 2:00PM
Tiffany said...
I couldn't agree with you more. The job market/medical care for the poor here in Dothan, Al ain't so great either.
7-09-2009 @ 8:53PM
Jackie BUtler said...
PS-to the locals-it aint West Point; it's called LaGrange geez get it right!
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7-12-2009 @ 12:04AM
Glenn said...
Aint is not a word. Perhaps an education may help you get a better job.
7-12-2009 @ 11:29AM
Mark said...
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ain%27t
Calm down there grammer police Glenn.
7-09-2009 @ 8:57PM
Jackie Butler said...
And a big PS: the locals know that West Point is owned and run by the ARMY CORPS of ENGINEERS! You are actually reporting on LaGrange GA where even Wal Mart failed-now tout that!
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7-09-2009 @ 10:14PM
upurs said...
well actually it's not really worth getting a job in america today..!..the jobs don't pay nearly as much as the infaltion and the taxes continue to go up all the time too..!..and all we poor/common working class people hear from our heads of state and business leaders is...;..everything is going up and business is bad...and that the employess must take pay cuts and all other kinds of concessions too...while these bigshots party and live high off the hog...!..screw them...sit around on welfare,and work under the table,then they figure out some other source of money...!
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7-10-2009 @ 9:45AM
mike said...
no, the temporary office was in LaGrange; the plant is in West Point
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7-10-2009 @ 4:37PM
Richard said...
Jackie Butler is a little confused - Kia and six tier 1 suppliers are located in the City of West Point GA, creating 7000 new manufacturing jobs - Lagrange is 10+ miles to the north and has one supplier. BTW the average KIA wage is $50K per year.
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7-10-2009 @ 5:02PM
Tom C said...
Jackie - the Kia jobs are highly technical and require a drug test - you might want to consider another line of work - ie Mcds
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7-11-2009 @ 11:25AM
Don said...
Patrick, I hate to be the one to awake you from your fog of ignorance, but I hope the facts don't get in the way.
First of all, executive salaries are no higher at GM than they are at the transplants.
Second, Korea subsidizes their automakers, BIG TIME. They are also protectionist in their own back yard. With tarrifs and such, a Chevy Malibu costs nearly $40,000 in Korea or Japan.
It is particularly convenient for the Koreans that we handle their defense from their 3rd world neighbors to the North, so they can lowball car prices and put Americans out of work. Kias and Hyundais are ASSEMBLED here, but use virtually no American made parts. Even Toyota buys from a few American suppliers.
For those who complaiin about "bailouts" of the domestics, I wonder how much Georgia had to pay Kia in subsidies to get the plant there? In Kentucky, the number was something approaching $200,000 PER JOB.
Finally, Toyota is not building any plants in Michigan. Where did you come up with that urban legand?
Wake up, America. We are losing our manufacturing base because of our own stupidity and ANTI business tax policies. Corporate tax rates are higher in the US than in Europe or China for heaven's sake.
At least Kias are cheap. Your unemployment check might help make a few payments. Is it worth it?
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7-11-2009 @ 1:16PM
al tourtellotte said...
i could not agree more !!!!!!!! where are the rest of us ?? support your way of life, buy American Mfg. by american companies.. there is a BIG difference.. thanks, Al