SK Battery America will furlough many of the workers at its massive Jackson County plant as part of efforts to cut production to match the sagging demand for electric vehicles, company officials confirmed Friday.
The move is temporary and will not shut down the huge plant, according to a spokesman for the South Korea-owned company.
“SK Battery America will not be stopping production,” said Joe Guy Collier. “We made the decision as a part of our efforts to optimize line operations and workforce management with flexibility as the EV industry is adjusting its pace of growth.
He declined to say how many people will be out of work or for how long the furlough will last.
However, the long-term market for electric vehicles and the batteries that will power them is not in question, and neither is the company’s much-hyped local presence, Collier said.
“SK Battery America remains committed to the Georgia site and optimistic about the long-term growth of the U.S. EV market. We believe our Georgia site will play a leading role for years to come in making batteries for American-built EVs.”
In late September, the company confirmed layoffs at the 3,000-worker plant. A few months prior to that, officials said hiring had exceeded the company’s previously stated goal of 2,600 employees.
The battery plant is located in Commerce, about 70 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, where the subsidiary of South Korea-based SK Innovation had constructed two lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities.
SK Battery has been among the highly-touted investments that the state has seen in manufacturing of electric vehicles and their components. In the past five years, Georgia has attracted $25 billion in announced investments along with the promise of 30,000 jobs in the EV industry, according to the office of Gov. Brian Kemp.
