A state economic development official says Kentucky is on track to reach pre-recession levels of employment by the end of the year, thanks largely to the recovery of the auto industry. Erik Dunnigan is the commissioner of business development in the Cabinet for Economic Development.
He says major investments by Kentucky’s three carmakers are fueling the creation of jobs, starting with Toyota’s plans to make its Lexus model in Scott County…
"They are going to be investing over a half billion dollars into the Georgetown plant and adding close to 750 new jobs, even more than that when you add in temporary workers. GM has announced over 130 million dollars in new investments into the next generation Corvette, down in Bowling Green...and we have all seen the success of Ford where they are investing over 1.2 billion dollars to retool the Louisville Assembly Plant, and retooling the Kentucky Truck Plant." - Erik Dunnigan
Dunnigan says investments in Kentucky’s auto industry over the past three years total 3.5 billion dollars and represent about 15,000 new jobs. He says 78 counties in the Commonwealth have auto-related businesses that are benefitting from the industry’s rebound.