AUGUSTA, Georgia, U.S. – A $120 million expansion of the Starbucks Augusta Soluble Plant announced today will nearly double the size of the operation and create up to 100 new jobs at the Georgia facility in the year after construction is completed.
The expansion, which will add 140,000 square feet to the current 180,000-square-foot plant, will get underway this summer and be completed in fall 2019. It is prompted by Starbucks growth and consumer demand.
The plant currently employs 185 Starbucks partners. The 80 to 100 jobs created in the year following the expansion will cover a range of positions, according to Tim Filipowski, the plant director. Currently one in six Augusta partners are armed forces veterans or military spouses.
“Because of the technical nature of our business here, we have recruited heavily for automation specialists, operators, mechanics and technicians,” said Filipowski. “Generally, the folks coming out of the service have some or all of those experiences.”
The plant maintains a close relationship with Fort Gordon, which is 20 minutes away. In addition to hosting job fairs at the base, where 12,000 soldiers are stationed, Starbucks conducts regular plant tours for service members, maintains an Adopt a Unit program and supports the annual Fisher House Golf Tournament, which generates funds to aid families of patients receiving care at military and Veterans Administration medical centers.
