By Morgan Chilson
TOPEKA — Panasonic’s Kansas battery plant will ramp up to 50% of its production capacity in the next few months, a company executive said Monday.
Kristen Walters, Panasonic Energy vice president of human resources, said the company is starting two new production lines at its De Soto plant, adding to two lines already in operation.
Construction has begun on the second wing of the lithium-ion battery cell plant, and two of the wing’s four lines will be in operation in 2027, Walters said in a virtual interview.
The plant opened in July amidst concerns political changes would affect operations. The Trump administration eliminated tax credits for buying electric vehicles, which dropped the industry’s sales at the end of last year in the fourth quarter by 36%, year over year, according to Cox Automotive.
Walters said Panasonic Energy has added battery customers in addition to Tesla, which is its largest customer.
“Our goal is to keep pace with our customer demand,” she said.
The company is projected to employ 4,000 people once it reaches full capacity.
“We’re at about 1,400 employees now,” Walters said. “We’d love to give out 100 offers on Thursday, but we expect to probably need at least 300 more team members as we start up the fourth line.”
Panasonic is holding a hiring event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday at Astra Enterprise Park, 10701 Astra Parkway in De Soto, in factory trailers located under the water towers. The hiring event is for entry-level skilled machine technicians.
