Pirelli’s Georgia expansion would add 1,000 jobs, most starting in 2029

Pirelli employs 234 people in Georgia. Its board has approved a plan that it expects to add around 1,000 more, but the state's account of the project says Pirelli expects to begin the bulk of that hiring in 2029. That is two years after construction begins and one year after the first new robotic capacity comes online.

The board of Pirelli & C. approved the U.S. investment plan of approximately €1 billion (around $1.2 billion) on September 22, according to the company's statement. The money will expand the Rome, Georgia plant, where Pirelli has operated since 2002. Work starts in 2027 and runs to 2033. By then annual capacity is planned to reach about 6 million car tires. The site currently has production capacity of 400,000 units a year, European Rubber Journal reported.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's office supplied the 234 figure, which covers Pirelli's manufacturing, innovation and headquarters operations in the state. "This historic investment will expand Pirelli's footprint with roughly five times more positions than they currently employ across the region," Kemp said. The plant is Pirelli's U.S. headquarters as well as its factory. Revelio Labs estimates Pirelli had about 30,973 employees worldwide as of March 2026, of whom 633 were in North America.

The sequencing matters more than the headline number. Pirelli describes two phases. The first adds robotized production based on the latest version of MIRS, its proprietary Modular Integrated Robotized System. That capacity is scheduled to build from 2028 toward 3 million tires a year, using what the company calls autonomous modular robotic systems. The second adds a conventional facility for premium products, with another 3 million tires of capacity at full operation.

The company and the state describe that second phase differently. Pirelli's statement calls it "a fully automated conventional production facility." The governor's release says the second phase adds "a traditional manufacturing process which will require more hiring," and that Pirelli "expects to begin the bulk of hiring in 2029." On the state's account, the robotic first phase adds half the planned capacity without driving most of the job growth.

Pirelli ties the timeline to the demands of its High Value segment. That segment requires "highly specialized manufacturing processes, small-batch management of a broad product mix, and integration of Pirelli's proprietary technologies," the company said. It also said capacity will grow "in a gradual manner and in line with the evolution of demand." Read plainly, both the pace of the build-out and the hiring behind it depend on how the U.S. market develops. Pirelli says the United States accounts for approximately 40% of global High Value volumes.

The state named its partners on the project. The Georgia Department of Economic Development worked alongside the Rome-Floyd Development Authority, Georgia Quick Start and Georgia Power. Quick Start's inclusion, together with the stated 2029 start for the bulk of hiring, points to a structured recruiting and training effort in northwest Georgia rather than an immediate hiring surge.

The plant will also be able to make Pirelli's Cyber Tyre, its connected-tire system. Pirelli said it obtained authorization from the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security to market Cyber Tyre in the United States. The authorization followed governance changes introduced under Italy's 2026 Golden Power Decree. European Rubber Journal has separately reported that the decree imposed limits on Pirelli's Chinese shareholder.

The board was split. Directors Zhang Haitao, Xi Xiaohong and Wang Kun voted against the plan, the company said, and the majority carried it. Pirelli said the project will not affect its 2026 targets. It expects capital spending as a share of revenue for 2027 to 2033 to remain "substantially in continuity with previous periods."

The same meeting cut a layer from the top. The board eliminated the corporate general management function with immediate effect and approved terms for the exit of Corporate General Manager Francesco Tanzi. He stays on as an executive until December 31, 2026. After that, he receives severance equal to 13 months' remuneration, payable by February 2027; a two-year non-compete covering Pirelli's principal countries, paid at 130% of his gross annual salary in eight quarterly installments; and a two-year consultancy contract worth €350,000 a year, plus non-monetary benefits valued at €45,000.

At the Georgia end, the first robotic capacity is due in 2028 and the bulk of hiring is expected to begin in 2029, with full operation in 2033.