Mercedes seeking hundreds of new workers for Tuscaloosa, Bibb county plants

Mercedes-Benz U.S. International is preparing to hire hundreds of new workers for its plants in Tuscaloosa and Bibb counties in anticipation of its 2022 production of electric vehicles.

The company is seeking those with production experience – especially those in the automotive industry – as well as less-experienced workers who have completed manufacturing training programs.

MBUSI is planning to have candidates for these permanent production jobs in place by the end of December.

To get there, the company is offering starting hourly pay rates at $20 and rising to $25 or more per-hour over four years, as well as shift premiums and immediate eligibility for MBUSI benefit programs.

Those benefits include:

• Health and life insurance

• Defined contribution retirement plan with a 401(k) match

• An annual bonus

• Paid holidays, vacation and emergency vacation days, along with a paid winter shutdown

• Tuition reimbursement

• An on-site childcare, medical center and fitness center

“MBUSI’s commitment to being the best luxury auto manufacturer in North America is most evident in our workforce,” said Michael Göbel, president and CEO of MBUSI in a news release. “As our production continues to accelerate and evolve, we are growing the team we’ve built with additional support on a local level.”

More:Mercedes-Benz plant expansion set for 2022 completion

Mercedes-Benz will begin the local production of two electric vehicles — the EQS and EQE sport utilities — next year and also is opening an electric vehicle, or EV, battery pack assembly facility on a second Alabama campus in Bibb County.

Jobs are available immediately in assembly and the body and paint shops.

Positions are also available at its battery plant, where workers will assemble new technology, high-voltage EV battery systems.

To qualify, applicants must have a high school diploma or GED-equivalent, one to three years of manufacturing or industrial experience, and also must be able to perform essential functions of the job.

“If you want to get out of a job and into a career, this is the place to be,” said Steven King, a member of the MBUSI assembly production team who has worked at the company for 20 years. “I like the family environment here. We get along well as a team. Everyone is approachable, including the higher-ups in management.

“These guys come out on the production floor and talk with the team members just like we talk with each other.”

Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT), the state’s primary workforce development agency and a division of the Alabama Department of Commerce, is assisting MBUSI with the hiring campaign.

Those interested can apply for open positions via the AIDT website and following the “Job Seekers” tab at the top of the page.

More:Battery recycling plant will be built at Tuscaloosa County Airport Industrial Park

"This is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of all the exciting new technologies in the transition of the world’s automobile manufacturing companies as they go from combustion engines to electric,” said said Ed Castile, director of AIDT and deputy secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “This historic transition is taking place right here in Alabama, and Mercedes is at the very center of this work.”

MBUSI, which began building vehicles at the Tuscaloosa County facility in 1997, currently employs 4,400 permanent MBUSI production team members.

Since 1995, Mercedes-Benz Cars has invested more than $6 billion in the Alabama plant and expanded its involvement in the Tuscaloosa region with another $1 billion in 2018, much of which is directed toward the development of electric vehicles.

In 2020, more than 210,000 vehicles rolled off the production line spread among the GLS and GLE sport utilities, the GLE Coupe and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS SUV.