BARTON - Navistar International Corp. plans to begin hiring the first wave of employees this week, with the goal of having 110 to 120 new workers in place by Jan. 1.
In addition, company officials offered jobs to the existing 95 workers at the National Alabama railcar plant in the Barton Riverfront Industrial Park.
That means more than 200 workers will be at the facility when Navistar takes over operations of the plant on Jan. 1.
Company officials today did not comment on how many employees they intend to hire, but Gov. Robert Bentley has said it could be around 2,200.
Ray Koopman, director of Manufacturing and Business Development, said the company will hire the 110 to 120 workers from an existing Alabama Industrial Development Training pool.
After that, they will continue to look into the AIDT pool, so anyone interested in applying should do so through the agency.
Koopman said Navistar will hire workers in groups of 20, beginning this week.
The Shoals Industrial Development Committee unanimously agreed on Sept. 26 to transfer the incentives committed to National Alabama to Navistar. The action allows Navistar to qualify for up to $23 million in incentives if the company meets specified employment thresholds during the next four years.
Navistar must reach and maintain 900 workers before qualifying for any incentive money, which would be $7.67 million at that level, according to Shoals Economic Development Authority officials who were involved in the project that took more than a year to finalize.
The company will have until Dec. 31, 2015, to reach 1,800 workers to qualify for the full incentive package.
Navistar officials have not released what kind of vehicle will be built at the plant. They said they will continue producing railcars when Navistar begins operations in January, but it’s unclear how long that operation will last.