AUGUST 3, 2011
BMW hiring now for 100 professional jobs
BMW Manufacturing announced Wednesday plans to hire an additional 100 professional employees and an unspecified number of production workers, effective immediately, and the automaker created a workforce program that will help train high school graduates in manufacturing skills.
These 100 jobs will be full-time permanent BMW positions, and they
have begun the hiring process. If you're interested, you can apply
online.
In addition, the plant has an increased production goal of 270,000
vehicles this year, said Harald Krueger, BMW board member responsible
for human resource management. The $750 million expansion completed last
year increased the plant capacity to 240,000 vehicles. Then BMW
Manufacturing was asked to ramp that up to 260,000 vehicles.
An undetermined number of production jobs will be added as a result. The
number of production jobs will be determined by demand. The production
jobs are being added for Octobers shift model change. BMW is hiring for
these positions now through MAU.
Also, the plant will begin construction of a $5 million associate family
health center this summer to provide medical care for associates, their
dependents and eligible retirees, said Krueger. The job creation and
the human resource programs are part of a $100 million investment in the
plant announced last March.
Gov. Nikki Haley and Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt attended Wednesdays announcement.
BMW is a perfect corporate example of manufacturing excellence in South
Carolina. We are proud they call South Carolina home, said Haley. She
then pointed at an X6 sports activity coupe built at the plant and said,
This is not a German car. This is a South Carolina car.
Josef Kerscher, president of BMW Manufacturing Co., said, BMW was and
is a product-driven company. BMW also is a people-oriented company. We
believe that our future success depends on our employees.
The expanded work force and the new human resource programs are a result
of the continued growth in demand for BMWs and to ensure that BMW has a
supply of people with the high-technology skills needed by the company,
he said.
Krueger said the professional positions include engineers, IT
specialists, front-line supervisors, human resources professionals,
financial professionals and others. Those positions will be full-time,
permanent BMW positions, said Annemarie Higgins, vice president of human
resources for the plant.
Production hiring is part of the earlier announced change in shift
models, allowing more vehicles to be produced annually. Those positions,
Higgins said, will begin as positions hired through MAU, the plants
temporary staffing partner. She added that BMW has begun conversion of
some temporary positions to permanent BMW positions.
She said candidates could begin apply for both the production and
professional positions immediately. Production technicians can apply at
www.mau.com/bmwjobs while those seeking professional positions can apply
online at www.bmwusfactory.com.
The creation of new jobs and the new programs are part of our long-term
approach to sustainability, said Krueger, whose first major project at
BMW was to serve on the team planning the plant in South Carolina.
For us, sustainability is not just about building the most effect
vehicles in the most productive facilities. Its also about accepting
responsibility for decisions that affect the future development of our
associates, he said.
Im personally a big fan of South Carolina and this plant. This is a
tremendous success story, he said, adding that BMW is committed to
future investment in the state. To date, the company has invested more
than $5 billion in the state and has built 1.8 million vehicles since
production began in 1994. Currently, BMWs 7,000 permanent and contract
employees build 1,000 vehicles daily.
To ensure that South Carolina residents have the skills needed, the
company began the BMW Scholars program, a partnership with Greenville
Technical College, Spartanburg Community College and Tri-County
Technical College to create a two-year program that combines education
and working at BMW.
The colleges have set up programs in automotive, robotics and machine
tool technology, mechatronics/industrial maintenance as well as
production association technology. The goal is to select 35 students for
the two-year program for a total of 70, Higgins said.
BMW Scholars is a new way to recruit and train local talent, Krueger
said, and is an effort to deal with a growing shortage of skilled
workers. It will give students an opportunity to gain real-world
experience by working up to 20 hours a week at BMW.
Kerscher said South Carolina candidates have strong basic skills but
they often need to be taught the technical skills and BMWs way of
manufacturing.
Construction of the health center on Brockman-McClimon Road near the BMW
training facility, is to begin this summer, Higgins said. Limited
services will be available by January 2012. The facility, expected to be
20,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet in size, will be operated by
an independent health care provider, who will serve associates, their
dependents and eligible retirees. Services provided will include the
pharmacy, relocated to the medical center; medical and primary care
services as well as vision, dental, physical therapy and occupational
health services.
Krueger said the Greer plant is one of our largest plants. Its very
competitive. The Upstate facility is important to BMW because some 70
percent of its production is exported. The plant is BMWs sole producer
of the X5, X6 and the new generation X3.
The X models are contributing to our growth, he said.