This is the sixth story in a weeklong series examining the pending arrival of Panasonic. We also created a printed newspaper special section that is on sale now. Watch our Facebook page for where and when we will have copies available.
People interested in a job at the new Panasonic plant can already start applying even though mass production of electric car batteries won’t begin until March 2025.
Panasonic spokesperson Dannea DeLisser said those interested can apply at the bottom of this website in the Contact Us box. Select Careers in the dropdown menu under Inquiry Type. While no positions are listed yet, DeLisser said people interested in a job can make inquiries on talent and skills.
“It’s open to apply now,” DeLisser said. “Right now would be the time to start applying.”
The new battery factory is expected to create 4,000 direct jobs in what Gov. Laura Kelly has called “the largest economic development project in state history.”
The plant will devote 80% of the jobs to production and 20% to white-collar jobs, according to the Kansas Reflector.
The plant is also expected to create 16,500 construction jobs. An additional 4,000 jobs are expected to be created with local suppliers and new businesses.
DeLisser said job recruitment for Panasonic will begin in mid-2023 and more details on hiring will come out at that time.
Some general Panasonic positions listed on Indeed.com at the Panasonic-Tesla Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada, include machine operators, material handlers, technicians, upper-level management and engineering positions.
Before the Kansas Panasonic plant was announced, the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University completed an economic impact study on battery equipment manufacturing for the state of Kansas.
The center’s director, Jeremy Hill, was told to assume an estimated average wage of $30 per hour, or an average salary of $62,000 a year, for Panasonic’s payroll.
However, Hill said these numbers were only estimates.
“When we do projects, sometimes we don’t always have all the information and, particularly the firm, they don’t even have all the information,” he said. “Things could have changed, and I wouldn’t have information about it. But, at the time of the study, they said that’s what they thought the average wage would be.”
It is also unknown how wages will be distributed among all the workers, Hill said. For instance, Indeed.com shows the average wage for a machine operator at the Nevada plant is about $40,000 annually or about $19.07 per hour.
But upper-level positions, like quality control manager, can make up to $120,000 annually, or about $57.50 per hour.
The average income for production operations in the Kansas City metro area is $21.35 an hour or $44,410 a year in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
When asked what the wages would actually be at the Kansas plant, DeLisser said Panasonic did not have that information yet. In 2014, the average wage was estimated at $26.16 per hour at the Nevada Gigafactory, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. That is the equivalent to $32.83 per hour after adjusting for inflation.
In preparation for the influx of jobs, workforce training centers in Kansas are gearing up to help get people ready to work at Panasonic.
Kevin Kelley, CEO of Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center Inc. in Lawrence, said his center has entered into a partnership with Johnson County Community College and Kansas City Kansas Community College to get training programs in place and ready for when Panasonic starts hiring.
“We’re all kind of standing ready to go at the shortest notice because we’re sure when they start hiring, the training will need to start,” Kelley said.
A training center will develop out of the Kansas Bioscience Park in Olathe as well, the governor said. That training center is expected to also be a part of a partnership with Johnson County Community College.
In Nevada, Panasonic partnered with Truckee Meadows Community College to train employees for the Reno-Sparks plant. The training program there required employees to complete courses to earn certain credentials.
For example, material handlers had to complete a four-credit series that included courses on safety, warehouse concepts and total quality management, according to News 4 and Fox 11 in Reno.
DeLisser said more information on positions, wages and training will become available when Panasonic starts recruitment in 2023.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].
