Volvo Car Plant Near Kosice Reaches 1,000 Employees, Launches First Shift

Kosice, 21 September (TASR) - Volvo Car Kosice announced the launch of the first work shift and the milestone of reaching 1,000 employees at its upcoming electric vehicle plant in the Valaliky industrial park near Kosice on Monday. The company is currently preparing for trial operation, with serial production set to begin next year. According to the company, the project for the plant near Kosice is progressing in line with the plan and gradually entering the next stage. An important novelty supporting the gradual ramp-up of production is a new rail service for employees. The work shift runs from 6:20 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. "Launching the first shift and reaching the milestone of 1,000 employees are important steps in the gradual ramp-up of our plant. Trial production, which will begin in just a few weeks, will help us verify processes, technologies, and the readiness of our teams ahead of the planned start of serial production in 2027," said company director Marc Gombeer. He added that some 95 percent of the blue-collar workers are Slovaks. The milestone of 1,000 employees confirms the steady pace of team building and the project's growing importance for the region of eastern Slovakia. Volvo Car Kosice plans to hire 300 more employees by the end of the year, with recruitment continuing in 2027. The main priority remains filling production positions, particularly production operators, as well as selected maintenance jobs. The media had the opportunity to visit selected areas of the paint shop prior to its full launch. The visit included a look at the cathodic electrocoat process, painting robots and an energy-efficient electric oven. "The paint shop is one of the most technologically demanding operation units at our plant. Our priority is to thoroughly test every process and prepare both the technologies and our teams to ensure high quality, safety and efficiency from the start of production," said paint shop chief Jan Lilko. ko/mcs