SC automotive firm Kongsberg to add 300 jobs

EASLEY, S.C. (AP) — The firm Kongsberg Automotive is nearly doubling its Pickens County operations with a $7.3 million expansion.

Pickens County plant manager Matt McKinnon says the firm expects to begin hiring in January 2012 for about 300 additional jobs.

The firm needed to double its current plant capacity, and is taking over a site in Easley that was vacated by another company. Easley is located about 13 miles west of Greenville.

Kongsberg makes precision parts for the aerospace, truck and automotive industry at the plant in Pickens County.

Gov. Nikki Haley says in a release that she is celebrating the decision as a big win for Pickens County and the state.