Area Development
Volkswagen Group of America will add 800 new jobs at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, manufacturing facility, in order to ramp up production to meet customer demand for its popular Passat.

The plant, which the company touts as the world's only LEED certified Platinum auto factory, opened in May of 2011.

The latest plan to hire more workers comes on top of an announcement earlier this year of the auto maker adding 200 jobs at the Chattanooga plant, bringing the total number of new jobs in 2012 to 1,000, a Volkswagen spokesman said. The Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga currently employs more than 2,700 people, about 2,200 by Volkswagen and an additional 500 by Aerotek, the company's staffing partner.

Volkswagen officials estimate the firm has invested $1 billion in the local economy. According to independent studies, the new Volkswagen plant is expected to generate $12 billion in income growth and an additional 9,500 non-direct jobs related to the project.

"This is a clear sign that the plant ramp-up has been successful and is a validation that the Passat is of the highest quality," said Frank Fischer, CEO and Chairman of Volkswagen Chattanooga. "Our plant was designed to be flexible in order to respond to market demand and I'm proud that we've achieved this so quickly. This is a good day for Volkswagen and for the people of Chattanooga," Fischer said.

"We have made a commitment to this market, both in terms of products and investment. Our original commitment to invest $4 billion into the U.S. market continues to grow, with a parts depot announced last week and now another further commitment to employment here in Chattanooga," said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. "Quite plainly, we need more Passats to meet the market demand and I'm glad that we can respond so quickly by adding staff in Chattanooga," Browning said.