Mercedes-Benz to employ 1,000 in new engine factory

A Mercedez-Benz engine factory being built in the southern town of Jawor is to create 1,000 jobs. The investment, valued at EUR 500 million, is scheduled for completion in 2019.

A topping-out ceremony was held at the site of Daimler AG's future factory on Friday.

Earlier, Daimler management had said the plant would provide 500 jobs. On Friday during the ceremony, Marcus Schaefer, a management board member of Mercedes-Benz Cars responsible for production and the supply chain, announced that current employment plans speak of 1,000 jobs.

"In the coming years we will invest in the development of this factory," Schaefer explained. "It's an intelligent factory, in which the latest technology will be used." He added that, in the future, the Jawor facility would not emit CO2. "It will be powered entirely by renewable energy sources," he declared.

Entrepreneurship and Technology Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz, also present at the ceremony, underscored that Poland is "Europe's factory." "Last year, out of every three industrial jobs created (in the EU - PAP), two were created in Poland," she stated. "Poland is a hub of the automotive sector today, both the traditional one and the one that seeks new technological solutions." She added that today Poland is competitive not because of its labour costs, but due to its quality of workers. "Investor choose Poland because there are outstanding engineers here, who are able to deliver the best solutions," she stated.

Minister Emilewicz went on to emphasise that her ministry supports the development of enterprises and the reindustrialisation of Poland. "We want to support the building of the competitiveness not only of the Polish, but also of the European economy," the minister declared. "Today the European family has to compete not with each other, but with economies that are not waiting - with the USA, with China, with Asia."