About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 2018)
Jeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Wednesday, November 28, 2018 BUSINESS JACKSON COUN^ Battery firm relocation to bring 2,000 jobs $1.67 billion investment by Korean manufacturer is largest-ever project for Jackson County BY NICK BOWMAN nbowman@gainesvilletimes.com An estimated 2,000 jobs are com ing to Jackson County as Korean car battery maker SK Innovation locates a new, $1.67 billion plant in Commerce. The move, announced Tuesday, Nov. 27, by Gov. Nathan Deal, will add more than 2 million square feet of manufacturing space in Jackson. The first phase of the project will begin in early 2019 and includes hiring 1,000 advanced manufactur ing employees and the construction of a 1 million-square-foot facility. Another 1,000 would be hired in the second phase. It’s the largest-ever commercial project for Jackson County, said John Scott, head of economic devel opment for the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve had some very large ones, but they’ve only been about 1,000 employees,” Scott told The Times on Tuesday. “This is quite large for us — this is 2,032 jobs that are expected to be created between now and 2025.” A groundbreaking has been set for early 2019, he said. The plant will be constructed at Commerce 85 Business Park, according to De’Osha Randolph, spokeswoman for the Geor gia Department of Economic Development. “SK Innovation has been actively looking for a production base to secure competitiveness in the battery business in the major global market,” said Kim Jun, chief executive of SK Innovation, in the announcement from Deal’s office. “With our business in the hub of the global auto industry, we will grow as a top player in the bat tery business.” The business park that will be home to the plant is more than 330 acres and sits between Maysville and Commerce along Interstate 85. The site is about 22 miles from Gainesville and about 10 miles from the Hall County line in Gillsville. Construction is expected to last about two years and full production is scheduled to begin in 2022. “It will be probably about one to two years before they’re really built out, but they’ll continue expanding and investing over the next five years,” Scott said. “We anticipate them to start doing some hiring for manufacturing .. proba bly in 2020 or 2021, but the majority of their construction is really going to start picking up in early ’22.” SK Innovation produces lithium- ion batteries for hybrid vehicles. The company is a piece of one of South Korea’s largest corpora tions, SK Group, whose customers include Mercedes-Benz and Hyun- dai-Kia Motors, according to the announcement. The Southeast has “a growing automotive industry .. and having a battery manufacturer right here in the middle is going to be a big benefit to not just Jackson County but all of this area,” Scott said. “I think we’ll start seeing a lot more automotive projects.” SK Group was among the first Korean investors in Georgia, “and has a longstanding history in our state,” said Pat Wilson, commis sioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Deal said the announcement represents a broader interest from Korean companies in locating sites in Georgia. “By choosing Georgia, SK Inno vation will have access to our skilled workforce and extensive manufacturing resources, while also joining a number of other Korean-affiliated companies that operate manufacturing facilities across the state,” Deal said. “We’re very excited in Jackson County,” Scott said. “We’ve been working on this (effort) for prob ably about four months. We’ve had a lot of people come together and really get behind this project. We understand economic develop ment here and we’ve strong leader ship that does as well. ” International investment in North Georgia has been a recur ring theme in 2018, as several Ger man companies have announced new or expanded plants. In Octo ber, Hall County business lead ers visited Germany on a trade mission. Staff writer Jeff Gill contributed to this report. MARK DUNCAN I Associated Press Workers at General Motors’ Lordstown Assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, put the final touches on Chevy Cobalts on Tuesday, June 15. Tech shift: GM cuts thousands of jobs BY TOM KRISHER Associated Press DETROIT — Even though unem ployment is low, the economy is growing and U.S. auto sales are near historic highs, General Motors is cutting thousands of jobs in a major restructuring aimed at generating cash to spend on innovation. The GM layoffs come amid the backdrop of a trade wars between the U.S., China and Europe that likely will lead to higher prices for imported vehicles and those exported from the U.S. CEO Mary Barra said the company faces chal lenges from tariffs but she did not directly link the layoffs to them. President Donald Trump, who has made bringing auto jobs back a big part of his appeal to Ohio and other Great Lakes states that are crucial to his re-election, said his administra tion and lawmakers are exerting “a lot of pressure” on GM. Barra headed for Washington after the news broke to speak with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow in what was described as a previously scheduled meeting. Trump said he was being tough on Barra, telling the company that the U.S. has done a lot for GM and that if its cars aren’t selling, the company needs to produce ones that will. At a rally near GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, plant last summer, Trump told people not to sell their homes because the jobs are “all coming back.” GM announced Monday that it will cut as many as 14,000 workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure. At the factories, around 3,300 blue- collar workers could lose jobs in the U.S. and another 2,600 in Canada, but some U.S. workers could trans fer to truck or SUV factories that are increasing production. The cuts mark GM’s first major downsizing since shedding thousands of jobs in the Great Recession. The reductions could amount to as much as 8 percent of GM’s global workforce of 180,000 employees. The cuts include about 8,000 white- collar employees, or 15 percent of GM’s North American white-collar workforce. Some will take buyouts while others will be laid off. The restructuring is part of a shift by GM as it abandons many of its car models and focuses more on autono mous and electric vehicles. It’s the new reality for automak ers that are faced with the present cost of designing gas-powered cars and trucks that appeal to buyers now while at the same time preparing for a future world of electric and autono mous vehicles. Barra said as cars and trucks become more complex, GM will need more computer coders but fewer engineers who work on inter nal combustion engines. “The vehicle has become much more software-oriented” with mil lions of lines of code, she said. “We still need many technical resources in the company.” The restructuring also reflects changing North American auto mar kets as manufacturers continue to shift away from cars toward SUVs and trucks. In October, almost 65 per cent of new vehicles sold in the U.S. were trucks or SUVs. That figure was about 50 percent cars just five years ago. GM is shedding cars largely because it doesn’t make money on them, Citi analyst Itay Michaeli wrote in a note to investors. “We estimate sedans operate at a significant loss, hence the need for classic restructuring,” he wrote. Hot Cyber Monday sales up 18 percent BY JACKIE CROSBY Tribune News Service With consumers already shopping more online, Cyber Monday is expected to bring in record e-commerce sales as retailers’ digital operations face their first major test of the season. Retailers were on pace to hit $7.8 billion in sales on Mon day — an 18 percent increase from last year — according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions at most of the top U.S. online retailers. But online promotions can be fraught if websites can’t keep up with increased traffic. On Friday, Walmart, Kohl’s and Lowe’s experienced web site meltdowns as consumers flocked to their sites for deals. Minneapolis-based Target is pouring $7 billion into mod ernizing its operations and improving online shopping. It has promoted “cyber week” deals and joined Amazon and Macy’s in starting its discount ing on Sunday. Richfield-based Best Buy has spent years making its website easier to navigate, and has seen online revenue leap in recent years as the line between store visits and online shopping continues to blur. Best Buy is once again pair ing its Cyber Monday sales with a fundraising effort for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The retailer and its customers have raised $60 million since 2013, according to St. Jude. Target Corp. promoted “cyber week” deals and joined Amazon and Macy’s in starting its discounting on Sunday. A survey of Twin Cities con sumers by global consultant Deloitte found that metro- area shoppers expected to spend more of their holiday budget online this year than in stores, consistent with national trends. Slightly more said they planned to shop on Cyber Monday than the Fri day after Thanksgiving. “Value and deals still tend to drive consumer behavior as the main motivator,” said Matt Marsh, a Deloitte retail adviser based in Minneapo lis. “With Cyber Monday, you get the deals, plus you get the ease: I can do a lot of shop ping quickly and don’t have to stand in lines.” Five-day marathon Those of a certain age will recall the origins of Cyber Monday as a day when people came back to work after the holiday weekend and took advantage of their employers’ fast internet connections to do some shopping. These days, the Monday online promotions cap a five- day retailing marathon that began on Thanksgiving. In all, the National Retail Fed eration (NRF) estimates that 164 million people will have shopped online and in stores during that long holi day stretch, which represents some of the busiest shopping days of the year. Last year, an average day during the holiday season produced about $1.1 billion in online sales volume, accord ing to Mastercard Spending- Pulse data, which measures total U.S. retail sales across all payment types. The NRF and other retail analysts predict retail sales to rise 4 to 5 percent over last year, the biggest bump since the end of the recession. More than 80 percent of major retailers expect to see more sales this Cyber Monday than last, said brand loyalty consultant Robert Passikoff of Brand Keys. Stock Exchange Highlights I NYSE 12,188.06 +6.46 I Nasdaq 7,082.70 +.85 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg BluegVac n 14.08 SpiritAir Frontlne rs DaqoNEn DHT Hldgs LineCp n IntlSeaw n NordicAm Copel IDT Cp 58.76 7.18 25.50 4.71 34.00 19.19 3.07 8.20 8.54 +2.05 +17.0 +7.78 +15.3 +.81 +12.7 +2.71 +11.9 +.45 +10.6 +3.14 +10.2 +1.75 +10.0 +.25 +8.9 +.65 +8.6 +.64 +8.1 Losers (S2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg CheetahM 5.48 Cubic 58.38 EtrAlerTRt 15.65 Tenaris 24.36 Diebold SJW NL Inds USSteel -2.68 -32.8 -7.81 -11.8 -1.82 -10.4 -2.64 -9.8 3.29 59.39 4.33 22.92 DxBiotBII rs 44.88 Earthstone 6.88 -.35 -5.92 -.42 -2.08 -3.81 -.57 -9.6 -9.1 -8.8 -8.3 -7.8 -7.7 Most Active ($1 on more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 1103896 744 7+4 BkofAm 433638 27.74 +.18 FordM 342666 9.28 -.12 ChesEng 335325 2.99 -.16 AT&T Inc 320980 30.44 +.49 Oracle 280432 47.44 -.82 Ambev 272542 4.22 +.16 Vale SA 267990 12.89 +.14 GenMotors 255488 36.69 -.96 Petrobras 245503 14.34 +.62 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 1,091 1,734 63 2,888 19 218 3,442,122,295 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Arsanis n WinsFin ChinaAuto CohBar n WillVV pfA BSB Bcp SunOpta CocrystP n Sophiris Eyenovia n 4.12 34.79 2.60 3.58 5.24 30.98 4.96 3.27 2.08 3.20 +2.96+255.2 +8.79 +33.8 +.40 +18.2 +.51 +16.6 +.73 +16.2 +4.12 +15.3 +.62 +14.3 +.37 +12.8 +.23 +12.4 +.32 +11.1 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg SmaashEnt 3.30 SilvrSun n 2.31 LogicBio n 13.20 TherpxBio n 5.77 Greenpro n 3.00 AquestTh n 9.31 EverQuo n 5.60 Amarin 16.83 LifewayFds 2.82 AcadiaPh 17.00 -5.56 -62.8 -.67 -22.5 -2.75 -17.2 -1.20 -17.2 -.50 -14.3 -1.54 -14.2 -.88 -13.6 -2.56 -13.2 -.43 -13.2 -2.46 -12.6 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg AMD Arsanis n Apple Inc Ferrogl n SiriusXM Microsoft Intel Amarin Cisco MicronT 1187613 434847 410973 332790 315102 290613 275713 263964 214580 213731 21.05 +.97 4.12 +2.96 174.24 -.38 1.80 -2.97 6.10 -.04 107.14 +.67 48.07 +.62 16.83 -2.56 46.12 +.55 37.00 +.43 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 997 1,907 166 3,070 13 168 2,015,594,015 Stocks of Local Interest Name Ex YTD Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.3 14 44.55 -.06 0.0 HeliosM rs .02 100.0 AK Steel 14 3.12 -.15 -44.9 Hershey 2.89 2.7 23 106.61 +.61 -6.1 AT&T Inc 2.00 6.6 6 30.44 +.49 -21.7 HomeDp 4.12 2.4 19 173.22 +3.40 -8.6 AbbottLab 1.12 1.6 30 69.71 +.90 +22.1 Intel 1.20 2.5 18 48.07 +.62 +4.1 AMD 21.05 +.97+104.8 IBM 6.28 5.2 9 120.03 +.47 -21.8 Altria 3.20 5.9 17 53.79 +.58 -24.7 JohnJn 3.60 2.5 20 143.22 +1.85 +2.5 Apple Inc 2.92 1.7 20 174.24 -.38 +3.0 Lowes 1.92 2.1 20 91.64 +2.33 -1.4 Arsanis n 4 4.12 +2.96 -67.7 McDnlds 4.64 2.5 28 184.63 +.74 +7.3 ATMOS 1.94 2.0 18 98.42 +.61 +14.6 Merck 2.20 2.9 28 76.34 +.90 +35.7 AutoZone 18 835.23+15.23 +17.4 MicronT 3 37.00 +.43 -10.0 AveryD 2.26 2.4 27 92.94 -.55 -19.1 Microsoft 1.84 1.7 44 107.14 +.67 +25.3 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.2 15 50.95 -.17 +2.5 Nabors .24 6.6 3.65 -.15 -46.6 BP PLC 2.38 5.9 12 40.32 -.21 -4.1 NorflkSo 3.20 2.0 25 162.80 -1.31 +12.4 BkofAm .60 2.2 13 27.74 +.18 -6.0 OfficeDpt .10 3.1 9 3.20 +.04 -9.6 BarnesNob .60 8.5 7.09 +.30 +5.8 Oracle .76 1.6 51 47.44 -.82 +.3 Boeing 6.84 2.2 30 318.03 +1.67 +7.8 PG&E Cp 2.12 7.9 4 26.97 +1.85 -39.8 BrMySq 1.60 3.1 51 51.15 -1.58 -16.5 Penney 1.44 +.06 -54.4 CSX .88 1.2 10 70.41 -.01 +28.0 PepsiCo 3.71 3.2 34 116.44 +.58 -2.9 CampSp 1.40 3.5 14 39.51 +.49 -17.9 Pfizer 1.36 3.1 18 44.07 +.73 +21.7 Caterpillar 3.44 2.8 12 124.60 -.20 -20.9 PhilipMor 4.56 5.4 21 85.05 +1.21 -19.5 ChesEng 5 2.99 -.16 -24.5 Primerica 1.00 .9 14 113.14 -3.40 +11.4 Chevron 4.48 3.9 24 115.21 +.23 -8.0 ProctGam 2.87 3.1 23 92.72 +.78 +.9 Cisco 1.32 2.9 23 46.12 +.55 +20.4 RealGSol h .72 -.05 -51.2 Citigroup 1.80 2.8 11 63.46 -.27 -14.7 RegionsFn .56 3.4 14 16.26 -.08 -5.9 CocaCola 1.56 3.2 93 49.37 +.50 +7.6 SiriusXM .05 .8 34 6.10 -.04 +13.8 ConAgra .85 2.6 16 32.27 -.33 -14.3 SouthnCo 2.40 5.2 22 46.09 +.44 -4.2 Cummins 4.56 3.1 40 145.18 -2.01 -17.8 SwstnEngy 6 4.84 -.21 -13.3 Disney 1.68 1.5 15 113.90 +1.35 +5.9 SunTrst 2.00 3.2 11 63.06 -.39 -2.4 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.7 18 57.18 -.48 -19.7 SynovusFn 1.00 2.7 13 37.13 +.16 -22.5 EnCana g .06 .9 12 6.87 -.17 -48.5 3M Co 5.44 2.7 28 200.69 +.83 -14.7 Equifax 1.56 1.5 18 103.00 +.74 -12.7 Torchmark .64 .8 7 85.12 -1.70 -6.2 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.3 14 77.05 +.07 -7.9 Tyson 1.20 2.1 11 58.34 -1.12 -28.0 Facebook 25 135.00 -1.38 -23.5 UtdCmBks .64 2.5 15 25.29 -.25 -10.1 Ferrogl n .24 13.3 3 1.80 -2.97 -88.9 UPS B 3.64 3.3 19 111.51 +.87 -6.4 FordM .60 6.5 5 9.28 -.12 -25.7 USSteel .20 .9 13 22.92 -2.08 -34.9 FrptMcM .20 1.8 7 11.24 +.15 -40.7 VerizonCm 2.41 4.0 8 60.65 +1.48 +14.6 GenElec .48 6.5 7.44 -.14 -57.4 Vodafone 1.74 8.2 21.24 +.33 -33.4 GenMotors 1.52 4.1 36.69 -.96 -10.5 WalMart 2.08 2.2 55 95.04 -.11 -3.8 GenuPrt 2.88 2.8 22 102.01 +.82 +7.4 WeisMk 1.24 2.6 11 47.66 +.29 +15.1 HP Inc .64 2.8 8 22.73 -.08 +8.2 WellsFargo 1.72 3.2 13 53.19 +.31 -12.3 Haverty .72 3.3 23 21.97 +.10 -3.0 YumBrnds 1.44 1.6 32 89.47 +1.16 +9.6 Name Ex YTD Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg Stock Footnotes: g = Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars, h = Does not meet continued-listing standards. If = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks, pf = Preferred, rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year, rt = Right to buy security at a specified price, s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year, un = Units, vj = In bankruptcy or receivership, wd = When distributed, wi = When issued, wt = Warrants. Fund Footnotes: m - Multiple fees are charged, usually a marketing fee and either a sales or redemption fee. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial. Stock Market Indexes Dow Jones industrials Close: 24,748.73 Change: 108.49 (0.4%) 26,000 25,120* 24,240 10 DAYS 52-Week High Low Name Last Net Chg %Chg YTD %Chg 12-mo %Chg 26,951.81 23,344.52 Dow Industrials 24,748.73 +108.49 +.44 +.12 +3.83 11,623.58 9,565.44 Dow Transportation 10,505.81 +29.26 +.28 -1.00 +7.71 773.78 647.81 Dow Utilities 730.49 +6.65 +.92 +.98 -4.64 13,637.02 11,820.33 NYSE Composite 12,188.06 +6.46 +.05 -4.85 -2.65 8,133.30 6,630.67 Nasdaq Composite 7,082.70 +.85 +.01 +2.60 +2.46 1,309.73 1,118.69 S&P 100 1,186.55 +6.09 +.52 +.29 +2.42 2,940.91 2,532.69 S&P 500 2,682.17 +8.72 +.33 +.32 +2.10 2,053.00 1,769.25 S&P MidCap 1,833.08 -14.69 -.80 -3.55 -2.51 30,560.54 26,293.62 Wilshire 5000 27,644.92 +26.13 +.09 -.54 +1.28 1,742.09 1,436.43 Russell 2000 1,492.86 -13.10 -.87 -2.78 -2.84 Mutual Funds Name Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Pet Load Min Init Invt Vanguard 500ldxAdmrl LB 247,729 248.43 + 1.1 +5.1/B +10.4/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 199,057 66.87 + 1.1 +4.4/B +10.0/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 127,316 66.84 + 1.1 +4.3/B +9.8/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv FB 126,316 15.96 +2.0 -9.2/B +2.0/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxins LB 119,661 66.88 +1.1 +4.4/B +10.0/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 116,372 245.10 +1.1 +5.1/B +10.4/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard InsIdxinsPlus LB 101,648 245.12 +1.1 +5.1/B +10.4/A NL100,000,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus FB 94,240 106.78 +2.0 -9.1/B +2.1/B NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 91,385 12.31 -1.6 +2.5/D +10.8/B NL 0 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 85,528 10.27 0.0 -1.9/C +1.9/C NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 84,712 94.01 + 1.1 +5.1/B +10.4/A NL 0 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 84,654 71.27 +1.8 +2.9/A +7.4/A NL 50,000 Cl -Intermediate-Term Bond, FB -Foreign Large Blend, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
