Daimler Trucks North America Expands Production and Hiring Plans

Stuttgart, Germany/Portland, U.S.

* Mt. Holly Truck Manufacturing Plant and Gastonia Parts Manufacturing Plant to add 628 new positions in March and April
* DTNA to create a total of 1,300 new jobs in the U.S. and Mexico in the first half of the year

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) plans to add a total of 628 new positions in its US manufacturing plants Mt. Holly and Gastonia to accommodate expanding production schedules and rising customer demand for commercial vehicles in NAFTA. Daimler Trucks North America is the most successful truck manufacturer in the NAFTA region in Classes 6 – 8 with a market share of 31.6 percent.

The plans call for approximately 1,300 positions to be filled at all the company’s manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Mexico during the first half of the year. Besides the 628 positions in Mt. Holly and Gastonia, around 600 new jobs will be created this year in Mexico.

“Our new hiring in Mt. Holly and Gastonia is a direct reflection of incoming orders and the resulting production schedule. For us, this is a significant and welcome step forward but still, we remain cautiously optimistic regarding economic and industry recovery,” said Martin Daum, President and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America.

The Mt. Holly Truck Manufacturing Plant is located in Mt. Holly, NC and plans to fill 474 new manufacturing and plant-based administrative positions beginning in mid-March. The Mt. Holly plant manufactures Freightliner M2 Business Class medium-duty and hybrid trucks.

The Gastonia Parts Manufacturing Plant is located in Gastonia, NC and plans to add 154 manufacturing and related administrative positions during the March - April time period to support the increased build rate.
Hiring will also include approximately 600 positions in DTNA’s Mexico manufacturing plants in Santiago and Saltillo to help meet production and customer delivery schedules for the company’s medium and heavy-duty product lines.

Today’s announcement follows the reinstatement of over 1,600 manufacturing and related administrative positions throughout the company’s manufacturing network since January 2010, in response to rising customer demand. New collective bargaining agreements were reached last year with all of the company’s U.S. plants. The agreements aim to boost workforce flexibility while also increasing manufacturing efficiency and thus reduce costs. In return, Daimler Trucks North America has made production commitments and assured job security.