Up to 150 new jobs are coming to Chatham as Magna International expands its operations in the area.
The company just announced that its new facility, which will be housed at the old Crown Cork & Seal building at 125 Irwin Street, will produce battery enclosures for the Ford F150 Lightning electric truck.
A release from the company that is in charge of recruiting for the plant said training was set to start in St. Thomas for a couple dozen employees with another round of hiring expected soon. The company said it is hoping to fill about 100 positions this year.
The pay is expected to start at $18.55 an hour for employees during training -- full-time personnel will earn $22.90 per hour and that will scale upwards as employees gain more experience and years of service.
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A release from Magna says the expansion to the new 170,000 square foot facility will be an extension of the company's current operations at Formet Industries in St. Thomas.
“As Chatham-Kent continues to grow, we’re thrilled that Magna has chosen our community to grow alongside," said Mayor Darrin Canniff in a release. "This investment is excellent news for the people of Chatham-Kent; it’s creating great jobs, in a rapidly growing industry, with a fantastic and very well-established company and goes to show our community’s commitment to supporting investment in innovative manufacturing."
Canniff said the factory is expected to include an investment of between $50 million to $100 million in the area and should start rolling out the first battery trays by the fall.
