Truck maker to hire 700 in N.C.

Daimler Trucks North America says it will hire about 700 employees in Gaston County, and about 600 at plants in Oregon and Mexico as it ramps up production to meet demand for its Freightliner and Western Star trucks.

The jobs are in addition to the 1,300 positions the company announced this year.

Daimler's truck manufacturing plant in Mount Holly will take on a second shift as it adds 535 manufacturing jobs and 37 administrative jobs. The plant in Portland, Ore., plans to add 155 manufacturing positions between September and the end of the year. The plant in Saltillo, Mexico, will add a third shift as it hires 479 manufacturing workers and 32 staff workers.

Daimler will also add 124 workers at its Gastonia plant, which makes truck parts. In Rowan County, the company said it will add 10 shop positions at its Cleveland plant, expected to filled by the end of July.

In a statement, Gov. Bev Perdue praised the announcement.

"Daimler is reaffirming and increasing its commitment to the state, knowing that they will find a workforce that is second to none," Perdue said.

Before recent hiring announcements, Daimler Trucks North America had slashed its Charlotte-area workforce in recent years saying truck orders had declined.

Charlote Observer staff writer Rick Rothacker contributed to this report.