Volkswagen Begins First Round of Hiring Call Backs

Volkswagen moves to the next hiring stage for workers at its new Chattanooga plant.

So far 65,000 applications have been submitted for work at the Enterprise South location.

Now the first round of face to face meetings and assessments is underway.

Work continues at a staggering pace at the $1 Billion plant.

Construction is on schedule with much of the exterior work well underway and moving to the internal systems.

VW Chattanooga CEO Frank Fischer says, "It's growing and growing and growing..."

...And says Fischer that means growing revenues for local companies, "All the suppliers and construction companies coming in, we asked them to include local suppliers."

Fischer says 49% of the work and components of construction is outsourced to Tennessee companies, an investment of roughly $188 Million per year...

By the end of the year more than 300 people will be manning offices at the Chattanooga location...roughly 50 from the company's German headquarters, the rest local hires.

Officials say that number will rapidly increase in the months to come.

The German automaker has been flooded with applications for Skilled Laborers, Management Positions, and Production Team members.

This week the first round of call-backs began.

Human Resources VP Hans-Herbert Jagla says, "Yesterday we started with our assessment center. And we started with 12 people, today with 12 people and from tomorrow onward at full capacity in our assessment center, about 24 people each day."

The assessment is just the first step in the long hiring process.

Fischer says, "It's a process that makes hiring very fair."

Hiring for production positions will begin next year.

But with more than 35 thousand applications submitted for only 2000 productions jobs, Fischer says applicants should be patient, "All of those people have a chance. As we mentioned before it's a long process of hiring. So we will hire people for at least the next two years."

VW has completed the first set of prototypes for the new mid-sized sedan planned for construction at the Chattanooga plant.

The next models built in the evolution of the vehicle will be built right here in the Scenic City...