US town 'thanks Jesus' for bringing Kia

We don't need to tell you that the world's economic woes are affecting all and sundry - from multi-billion pound property developers to the average working class Joe. Small towns and villages can be particularly badly hit by job losses, but a ray of hope has sprung this week from a tiny town in America, where business is booming.

Just 3,500 people reside in West Point, on the Georgia-Alabama border about 80-miles from Atlanta city, and for such a deeply American part of the world they're all singing the praises of a foreign company, in the shape of Kia Motors.

Kia's new car factory is set to open later this year (2009), which is in complete contrast to the potential plant closures from the US's home-grown automotive industry. It'll be the only new car factory scheduled to start up in America at this time, so it's big news outside West Point too.

According to a report in The New York Times, Kia has so far only hired 500 local workers, but it has received over 40,000 applications. Mayor of West Point, Drew Ferguson IV said: "We're the only place in the nation that is fixing to put between 7 and 10,000 manufacturing jobs online."

Along with the main factory, which will employ about 2,500 workers, it is expected that a network of local-based supply companies will significantly increase their workforces to meet demand, while the influx of workers will mean more employment in restaurants, shops, etc. to service their needs.

The first model to be made at the new factory - Kia's first in North America - will be the company's new Sorento SUV.

Foreign car makers have been welcomed with open arms in the South, with Kia reportedly receiving about $400 million in tax breaks and other incentives to set up the new factory.

When the deal was sealed three years ago the bells in the town's First United Methodist Church were rung and one resident has apparently erected a permanent sign that reads "Thank You Jesus For Bringing Kia to Our Town."

Shane O' Donoghue