The Behr plant at 1600 Webster St. has about 1,600 workers and is looking for about 100 more.
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A union at the plant recently agreed to a contract that raises wages.
“We are the largest single-site employer for manufacturing in the city of Dayton,” Jason Gibson, a human resources generalist at the plant, said in an email to this news organization. “It is our goal to interview and hire 100 or more production workers on the spot.”
New, higher wages for workers took effect earlier this month. Starting wages are more competitive, with starting pay for production workers rising from $11.65 an hour to $13.60, the company has said. The top rate for unskilled hourly employees tops out at $17, up from $15.
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And while it once took a decade to hit that top rate, a human resources executive told the Dayton Daily News recently it now takes five years.
For skilled trade workers — electricians, tool-and-die workers and general maintenance — wages previously started at $21.80 to $21.90 an hour, and they topped out at around $25.
Now, skilled wages start at $23.70 and max out above $31.
German firm Mahle GmbH took a majority ownership stake in the Behr Group, which owned the local plant, in 2013. The Dayton plant, once owned by Chrysler, has operated since the 1930s.
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