Business

A Lexus luxury brand vehicle will soon be built in the Bluegrass State. Toyota officials made the formal announcement Friday morning at the auto maker’s Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, where production of the Lexus ES 350 will begin in 2015.

Governor Beshear told Toyota leaders in attendance that he appreciates their decision to invest further in Kentucky.

“We realize the care and the pride that you take in that vehicle and that it requires the utmost in a skilled workforce, not to mention top quality components,” said Beshear. “Your confidence in the quality of Kentucky’s workers, especially our team here in Georgetown is appreciated and well placed.”

Kentucky Toyota workers will produce about 50,000 of the new Lexus vehicles annually once production begins in two years. The expansion will add an estimated 750 new jobs to a facility that already employs 6,600 workers.

A western Kentucky aluminum smelter has notified employees that it plans to shut down operations on Aug. 20 unless it can get lower electric rates.

Century Aluminum has been in negotiations with its power supplier, Big Rivers Electric Corp., for more than a year. Both parties told the Messenger-Inquirer on Tuesday that they are still trying to negotiate a deal before time runs out.

Legislation to lower the smelter's electric bills was introduced during the General Assembly, but pulled due to misinformation that surrounded the issue.

Century gave a 12-month notice last year to Big Rivers saying it would not renew its power contract. The plant in Hawesville employs about 700 workers.