We wrote last month about VinFast after the new Vietnamese electric vehicle EV tech startup made its push into the US market. VinFast is a subsidiary of Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, founded by Vietnam's richest man Ph m Nh t V ng.
VinFast is looking to hire new 8,000 employees for its electric-vehicle plant in Haiphong, Vietnam and deliver its first battery-powered SUVs in the United States by the end of the year, according to a report from Reuters. VinFast employs 6,000 people at the moment.
The tech sector is going through a mass layoff, and the announcement comes at a time when it's going through a mass layoff. More than 32,000 tech workers lost their jobs in July, according to a report on Monday. More tech companies are planning to reduce their workforce to counter market challenges due to the global economic downturn.
VinFast said the new recruitments were for VinFast's production expansion, as per a Facebook post on its verified account. The company said new staff, including assembly workers, technicians, and engineers, will start working from August and September. The Haiphong plant has the capacity to produce 250,000 electric cars per year and VinFast expects to increase that capacity to 600,000 by the year 2026, according to the post. VinFast is planning to open six showrooms in California and plans to expand in the future, and is building a $2 billion factory in North Carolina.
The 5 year old startup has partnered with leading automotive industry giants, including ZF, Gotion, Pininfarina and LG Chem. VinFast's team consists of alumni from several top automakers, including Volkswagen, General Motors, BMW, General Motors, Toyota, Hyundai, Porsche, Jaguar-Land Rover and BMW.
Vinfast Global CEO Michael Lohscheller said in a statement: "We want to become a global brand, and if you want to become a global brand, you have to come to the US." Ph m Nh t V ng, who made his first fortune in dried ramen noodles, is a Vietnamese property developer and Vietnam's first billionaire and richest person. He attended the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology before going to Russia to study at the Moscow Geological Prospecting Institute. He returned to Vietnam to start the Vingroup.
The company reported last year that it was seeking $1 billion in funding from BlackRock and Qatar's sovereign fund for electric cars. We covered VinGroup last year.
Vingroup was founded 29 years ago on August 8, 1993 and focuses on technology, industry, real estate development, retail, and services ranging from healthcare to hospitality. Four years ago, V ng decided to start building and selling cars through the company's automotive group called VinFast.