Preparing SK's US Battery Plant for Operation

Georgia Commerce Plants 1 and 2 Launch Large-Scale Hiring Drive

SK Innovation Electric Vehicle Battery Plants 1 and 2 in Commerce, Georgia, USA

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] SK Innovation has launched a large-scale recruitment drive to fully operate its electric vehicle battery plants in the United States. This move appears to be aimed at quickly stabilizing its U.S. operations following the conclusion of litigation with LG Energy Solution.

SK Innovation's subsidiary, SK Battery America, began the hiring process on the 21st (local time) to recruit hundreds of employees to work at its Plants 1 and 2 located in Commerce, Georgia. Plant 1, which has completed external construction, is scheduled to start trial operations in the first half of this year with the goal of mass production next year. Plant 2, which had been delayed due to the lawsuit with LG, recently resumed construction and is planned to be fully completed by the end of next year, with commercial operations commencing by the end of the following year. Plant 2, adjacent to Plant 1, has made significant progress on the building foundation and now requires internal equipment installation.

The recruitment covers all areas necessary for plant operations, including production, quality control, maintenance, safety management, logistics, finance, and human resources. This hiring scale is reported to be the largest since the company recruited specialized technicians in certain fields last June. In addition to posting job openings through local media, SK Battery America plans to hold online and offline job fairs starting at the end of this month to accept applications. The company expects the local workforce to reach approximately 2,600 employees by the end of the year following the full operation of Plant 2.

SK Innovation has invested about 3.16 trillion KRW in building Plants 1 and 2. Earlier, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won announced plans to invest up to around 5 trillion KRW to expand its battery business in the U.S. The company explained that it plans to increase capacity by adding Plants 3 and 4 depending on market conditions. The U.S. battery plants are located about an hour's drive from Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, and the site was chosen with the potential for up to four plants in mind.

The U.S. plants are considered a crucial base for SK Innovation to increase its market share in the electric vehicle battery sector. The U.S. is one of the world's three largest electric vehicle markets alongside China and Europe, and since the Biden administration took office, there has been a stronger emphasis on expanding electric vehicle adoption and domestic battery production. SK Innovation is supplying batteries for Ford's electric pickup truck model, a symbol of the U.S. market, and has also agreed to supply batteries for vehicles produced by Volkswagen, the world's second-largest electric vehicle manufacturer, in the U.S.