Slate Auto and Two Orthopedic Suppliers Compete for the Same Warsaw Workers

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Slate Auto is headlining the HireKosciusko job fair on October 1st. The company's roughly $400 million Warsaw electric truck plant has hired more than 500 people toward a 2,000-job target, and Paragon Medical and Tecomet, both orthopedic device manufacturers, are exhibiting at the same event.

If you source labor from Kosciusko County, this job fair is a direct read on how tight that market is getting. An EV assembly plant, a surgical implant manufacturer, and a precision machining company are all recruiting from the same room on the same day.

For your morning huddle

Should I worry about hiring competition in Kosciusko County?

Yes, if you source labor from Warsaw or nearby, the October 1 HireKosciusko job fair puts Slate Auto's EV plant directly against Paragon Medical and Tecomet for the same worker pool.

Briefing note

The HireKosciusko Hiring Fair runs 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 1, 2026 at the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion in Warsaw, sponsored by OrthoWorx alongside the Kosciusko Chamber, KEDCO, Kosciusko County Community Foundation, KHRA, and WorkOne Northern Indiana, with 14 employers including Slate Auto and Zimmer Biomet. Slate Auto has already hired more than 500 people toward a target of up to 2,000 for its roughly $400 million electric pickup plant at the former RR Donnelley/LSC printing site on Old Road 30.

Impact: Zimmer Biomet's January 2026 global workforce 'right-sizing' (structured to stay below WARN-notice thresholds) quietly put skilled ortho-device workers (machining, quality, regulatory) into the Kosciusko labor pool just months before this fair, a non-public factor that may be feeding Slate's confidence in hitting 2,000 hires. With Warsaw's population near 15,800, a full Slate ramp represents a greater-than-10% jump in employed residents, and Slate's wage-competitive assembly jobs could accelerate attrition from orthopedic suppliers Paragon Medical and Tecomet, both also recruiting at the same event.
Watch: Slate Auto's Q4 2026 production ramp timeline and KEDCO's promised disclosure of the incentive package, wages, and hiring dates.

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Slate Auto and Two Orthopedic Suppliers Compete for the Same Warsaw Workers

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