JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Continental AG's first employee for its tire plant near Jackson is a 28-year-old civil engineer. Zach Morrow says he "couldn't be any more proud" to be the first employee at the site of the $1.45 billion plant that's supposed to eventually employ 2,500 people.
A contractor is now cutting down trees on the 900-acre site, as the German company plans a November groundbreaking. A Mississippi State University graduate and Ackerman native, Morrow's job is to ensure that and other work proceeds according to plan.
Continental says it won't begin hiring most employees until late 2018, ahead of a late 2019 opening.
State officials have said workers' wages will average $40,000 a year. Mississippi has agreed to give Continental a projected $650 million in grants and tax breaks over 30 years.