Since then, the company has been turning dirt at its 2,100-acre site along SH 130 and has posted 12 job opportunities online tied to the gigafactory or local construction. The company has also continued to hire for other local ventures with 49 active listings for Austin-area jobs.
According to Tesla’s agreement with Travis County, the company will be hiring thousands of construction workers to build the gigafactory. While a specific number was not listed in the agreement, Tesla stated more than 8,000 construction employees were hired to build the gigafactory in Nevada.
Diana Maldonado, the president of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has seen increased interest in Tesla. Individuals want to be part of the conversation when more jobs are posted, while local business owners want to know how they can be part of Tesla’s future vision for the Austin area, she said.
“Obviously we are excited about Tesla. Anyone in the nation would be excited to have Tesla as a partner in their backyard,” Maldonado said. “The workforce is into [Tesla] because all of this is new and evolving. There is definitely some interest and they want to learn more.”
She said Tesla is still getting situated in Austin and will likely work with local organizations and key stakeholders such as local chambers of commerce to connect with the workforce as the company progresses on its gigafactory.
“Tesla did their homework, and they know and have recognized the talents and the opportunity that exists in Austin,” she said.
Although Tesla’s job listings are still primarily for their active Austin operations, which existed prior to the gigafactory announcement, with construction now underway more jobs should come in the future.
“It's exciting to see Tesla’s rapid pace of construction on their new Gigafactory in Austin’s Eastern Crescent,” Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president of economic development at the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said to Community Impact Newspaper in an email. “We look forward to the variety of new jobs that will be created ongoing as the project develops and the impact that will be realized in Travis County, Del Valle and our region.”
