Sunday, February 08, 2015

Caterpillar Hiring At Local Plant More Than Doubled In Last Year, Oconee County Report States

Details Later

Caterpillar has created 932 of the 1,300 jobs it has promised to generate at its local plant, according to a report filed on Jan. 29 by Rick Waller, chairman of the Oconee County Industrial Development Authority, with the state agency that is overseeing the project.

The 932 jobs are more than double the 364 that Waller reported Caterpillar had created in a similar report a year ago.

Caterpillar was obligated to create only 250 jobs by the end of 2014 as a result of its memorandum of understanding signed with the development authorities of Oconee County and of Athens-Clarke County.

Waller 1/12/2015

Waller’s report provides no information on the types of the jobs created. Caterpillar is required to provide details both about its level of hiring and amount of investment in the facility on the Oconee County and Clarke County border on the eastern edge of Bogart.

Last year, that detailed report was released in early March, though the county said it was not due until the end of that month.

Tomorrow’s Meeting

The Industrial Development Authority meets at 4 p.m. in the Courthouse in Watkinsville, and Waller is likely to mention his report to OneGeorgia Authority in his chair’s report.

The Jan. 29 report indicates that the two counties have invested $19,686,382 in bringing Caterpillar to Georgia. Last year, Waller reported that the investment had been $19,369,772. That was the first report filed on behalf of Caterpillar, which opened its plant in 2013.

The two counties had promised to invest $18,069,830 when they agreed in early 2012 to subsidize the movement of the Caterpillar plant from Japan to the U.S.

Caterpillar agreed to invest $160 million, and it has invested $129,912,518 to date, according to Waller’s report. In the report last year, Caterpillar listed an investment of $107,407,527.

Job Goals

Though Caterpillar and local officials have used the figure of 1,400 as the number of jobs to be created at the new plant, the report indicates that 1,300 was the figure promised to OneGeorgia Authority.

The actual memorandum of understanding sets the lower goal of 1,100 by 2032.

According to that agreement, Caterpillar isn’t required to have 900 employees until 2019.

The statement of job and investment goals is part of the agreement, which also largely waives taxes for the manufacturer.

The two counties bought the land and developed the infrastructure for the plant. Caterpillar leases the plant and equipment it uses in the plant from the two IDAs.

OneGeorgia Authority is under the the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, which also spent money to entice Caterpillar to relocate its Japanese assembly plant in the state .

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

1,400, to 1,300 to, 1,100 to 900.

Oconee's spending $20 million for 900 jobs. Who knows how many of those workers live in Athens, Barrow, Gwinnett or elsewhere.

Any where are are those supplier businesses who were supposed to flock to the area.

Time for an independent study on the Reurn on Investment we're getting for our $20 mil.