BMW announces 100 new jobs

BMW announced Wednesday its plans to hire more associates, streamline future recruitment and ensure adequate healthcare for current employees at its Greer plant. 

Harald Krueger, BMW Group board member responsible for human resources, made the announcement Wednesday morning at BMW's assembly division of the plant that the company would be hiring 100 more people to fill new positions in the fields of engineering, IT and production. The production jobs will include positions assembly, paint shop and body divisions. 

Krueger, who reminisced about planning for the Greer plant in 1992, called his presence for the announcement a "homecoming." He also announced BMW Scholars program, in which the company will partner with Spartanburg Community College, Greenville Technical College and Tri-County Technical College to provide specialized education opportunities for those interested in pursuing careers in skilled manufacturing.

The new program will allow students to take classes full-time, while also getting hands-on experience at the plant up to 20 hours per week while studying the fields of automotive technology, robotics technology, machine tool technology, industrial maintenance, mechatronics and production technology.

Those who take part in the program will have then put themselves in better position to be hired on as full-time associates by BMW. 

"These innovative programs and new jobs serve to exemplify how much we care about current and future generations. This is part of our long-term approach to sustainability,” Krueger said in a prepared statement. “For us, sustainability is not just about building the most efficient vehicles in the most productive facilities. It’s also about accepting responsibility for decisions that affect the future development of our associates.”

BMW also announced the planned construction of a 20,000-25,000 square foot Associate Family Health Center on the west end of the plant, which will provide everything from primary and preventative care, to physical therapy, imaging, dental care, vision care and a pharmacy. Limited services will be available at the health care facility by the mid-2012, with the full range of care being provided by January, 2013, according to Annmarie Higgins, vice president of BMW's human resources. 

"This is another amazing day in South Carolina," said Gov. Nikki Haley, who attended the announcement. 

"But while the associates have pride in the product they produce, the people of South Carolina have pride in BMW. This is a company that continues to show us year after year, their commitment to our state, their commitment to our people and their commitment to our communities." 

Later, Haley said the continued growth of BMW in the Upstate was a testament to both the intrinsic logic of the state's right-to-work philosophy and the power or recruiting strong companies. 

"The thought in South Carolina is that our companies understand the importance of relationships with their employees. It's a direct relationship," Haley said. "Being a right-to-work state matters, but getting quality companies matter." 

"Twenty years ago, this was a huge announcement; BMW was coming to South Carolina and it was going to be 2,000 jobs. Twenty years later, it's over 7,000 jobs and it's from announcements like this. One hundred here. One hundred there. Every time they look at expanding, they're expanding here," Haley said. 

Michael Bellamy, a Tri-County Technical College student, is one of the first wave of BMW Scholars, and vouched Wednesday for the program's aggressive skill-building. Bellamy goes to school full time and drives to Spartanburg County everyday from Anderson to take part in the program. 

"I got recruited through Tri-County Tech. It's been a challenge, which is what I look for in work," Bellamy said. "There's so much to learn." 

BMW is expected to produce as many as 270,000 vehicles from the Greer plant in 2011, and has continuously expanded since the manufacturing site's founding in 1994 due to rising demand, most recently for its X3 line. 

"This is not a German car," Haley said. "This is a South Carolina car."