Car parts manufacturer, Auto-Springs East Africa which moved its operations from Athi River to a new plant at Limuru, Kiambu is set create 600 additional jobs for Kenyans.
The vacancies will be created if the government's legal notice that requires car manufacturers to source more than a third, which is 40 per cent of their inputs locally, is implemented.
The firm has said that the 600 employees that will be hired, will comprise of both the skilled ones and the semi-skilled.
The firm on Monday launched a Sh500 million plant at Limuru, Kiambu County, with 200 employees on its payroll.
Auto-Springs East Africa board chairman, Kevin Kihara, has said that the new workers that will be employed will facilitate working in at least three shifts, which as a result will help the firm in increasing its production.
“If the government enforces Legal Notice 489 which requires automotive assemblers to have 40 per cent local content in their vehicle assemblies, then we can increase our production to three shifts that would require a workforce of 800 persons,” said Kevin Kihara.
The new firm at Limuru will ensure the importation of the spare parts reduces, regardless of the increased demand of the parts.
Kenyan's car parts market stretches across East, Central and Southern African countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.
“We are trying to reduce the level of imports of goods that can be made by companies like ASL without compromising on quality,” said Industrialisation secretary Adan Mohamed.