time the factory opens , Kia hopes to hire 2,000 more . A smattering of Kia supply companies will eventually employ 7,500 additional workers . Watch the town 's excitement about the new factory '' `` A lot of people feel that we are the savior for this area , which I hope we will be , '' said Randy Jackson , director of human resources for the manufacturing plant . `` We got 43,013 applications ; 75 percent of those applications came from Georgia , and about 20 percent came from our neighboring state of Alabama . '' Some of those applications are coming from auto workers around the country , including Detroit , Michigan , Jackson said . Overall , West Point stands to gain 20,000 jobs as a result of the factory during the next five years , Ferguson said . Georgia 's 9.7 percent unemployment rate reported in May is about the same as the June national average of 9.5 percent , according to federal statistics . The U.S. Department of Labor reported unemployment in a five-county region including West Point at 8.6 percent . To secure the $ 1.2 billion Kia plant , state and
WEST POINT , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A community that seemed on the road to becoming a ghost town has taken a turn toward prosperity despite the recession , thanks to an automaker . A roadside sign in West Point , Georgia , expresses support for Kia 's new factory . Korean car manufacturer Kia plans to open a sprawling automobile factory in tiny West Point , Georgia , by the end of the year . The boon has already spurred economic growth -- and just plain excitement -- among residents , said Mayor Drew Ferguson . `` We jokingly call it Kia-ville , '' said Ferguson , a 42-year-old dentist helping to oversee expansion of West Point , population 3,500 . The announcement is drawing workers and businesses to the community about 80 miles south of Atlanta . `` The revitalization of the community is touching every aspect , '' Ferguson said . `` We have infrastructure projects , new subdivisions going up , hotel professional services that are all needed to support the massive manufacturing . '' The plant , which will make Kia 's Sorento sport utility vehicle , has hired 500 workers . By the