Featured image: Terafactory Texas/YouTube
Construction of Giga Texas continues and the first cars will roll out from the assembly line next year. The company should initially create 5,000 jobs, but the manufacturer's presence in Texas is likely to have an even more positive impact on the state.
During the second annual East Austin Growth Summit on October 29, attendees expressed their opinion that Tesla will have a greater impact on the region's workforce through more jobs, The Business Journals reported. Because of COVID-19, the Austin metro's unemployment rate rose to 6.4% in September, up from 5.5% in August, which is why experts described the Tesla factory as a monumental gain for the region.
And given the scale of the automaker's planned operations, the factory could ultimately spur about 15,000 jobs, said Ed Latson, executive director of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association.
Austin Community College (ACC) is setting up a campus near Tesla's factory to prepare people for the job. The college is offering an eight-week course in manufacturing production and is prepping a manufacturing incubator to fuel job growth. ACC is now urgently stepping up training as tens of thousands of people are out of work due to the pandemic, said Laura Huffman, president and CEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.
"Not only will their skills make them marketable down the road, but employee health insurance, the opportunity to buy into the company, the training ... these aren't just new jobs for people, these are new careers," Huffman said of Tesla's positions.
As soon as Tesla sets down roots somewhere, it is then followed by dozens of suppliers, as was the case in Giga Nevada. "That's where the major multiplier effect of their impact is going to happen," said Latson. "They have a reputation of wanting their suppliers close to them, and they're going to make that request for critical suppliers. So, I wouldn't be shocked if we had 50-plus companies move here to support this facility. My hope is that those 50 come but that they also find another 50 that are already here."
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
