Puno Patel, South Carolina Community Affairs Manager for Scout Motors, told Fairfield County Council on Nov. 10 that the company is progressing on construction milestones at its Blythewood site and is preparing to scale hiring as work moves toward production.

"We are going to be producing and manufacturing two electric vehicles initially," Patel said, adding the models are a midsize SUV and a midsize truck. "Both of them are going to be 100% electric with the option of a gas-powered range extender," she said, and quoted estimated ranges of about 350 or 500 miles depending on configuration and a starting MSRP of $60,000.

Clarice Henderson, Vice President of Production Human Resources for Scout Motors, outlined the company's phased hiring approach. "We launched in July" with technical hires, she said, and the company has scaled its first-year production hires to about 45 from an earlier 100 estimate. Henderson said Scout plans to hire about 3,500 production workers and about 500 salaried or office staff at the plant when fully ramped; she added that Scout's supplier base is expected to support roughly 5,500 jobs.

Henderson said new employees undergo a two-week training and onboarding class; the council was told that the most recent training class has graduated and a final class will start Nov. 17. The company also described workforce partnerships: "We partnered with ReadySC and Midlands Technical College," Henderson said, calling ReadySC the group's employment assessment partner and noting a pre-employment certification that can prioritize local candidates.

Councilwoman Cobaugh asked whether Scout was working directly with Fairfield County institutions; Patel and Henderson said the company is conducting local outreach and has a community-relations contact scheduling meetings and follow-ups specific to Fairfield County.

Scout representatives displayed construction milestones and invited the county public information officer to distribute the presentation. Patel said materials and contact information are available for council members and constituents.

The presentation emphasized the scale of the project and the staged hiring plan rather than immediate mass recruitment. Council members noted interest in continued coordination about local hiring and training paths as Scout moves toward full production.