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.
