Concentrix hiring 100 more workers for Chattanooga call center and more business news

Jan. 7—Concentrix hiring 100 more workers

Concentrix is planning to hire 100 more workers for its call center in Chattanooga and will conduct a career fair on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help fill the new jobs.

The company is hiring for customer support positions with both on-site and work-at-home opportunities, the company said.

The virtual event will take place via Zoom. Interested applicants can get to know Concentrix at the information session, meet recruiters, learn more about the available opportunities, as well as get an introduction to the inclusive culture and people-oriented staff. To receive a link to attend, contact Kim Basford at Kimberly.basford@concentrix.com.

The new hires will bring the number of Concentrix employees in Chattanooga to 310, according to the company.

Novonix seeks listing on NASDAQ exchange

Novonix, a company investing $160 million in Chattanooga to make battery materials, has begun the process to list its securities on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Novonix, which plans to create 300 jobs in Chattanooga, has filed a registration statement, Form 20-F, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Australia-based company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The U.S. listing is expected to take place after the SEC and NASDAQ have completed their review process and upon effectiveness of the registration statement. Securities will take the form of a Level II American Depository Receipt program and will complement the existing primary listing on the Australian exchange, the company said.

Establishing the program is part of an ongoing strategy to expand Novonix' reach to investors in the United States and make the company's securities potentially eligible as a direct investment for North American institutions and fund managers.

"This listing furthers our long-term goal of reshoring the EV supply chain in North America and becoming a leader in the electrification economy," said Dr. Chris Burns, chief executive at Novonix.

Stocks drop and Treasuries rise

Stocks closed lower and Treasury yields rose Friday with much of Wall Street anticipating that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as soon as March despite a mixed report on the U.S. jobs market.

The downbeat finish capped the worst week for the S&P 500 technology sector since October 2020 and the biggest weekly drop for the tech-heavy Nasdaq in nearly a year.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury hit its highest level since COVID-19 began pummeling markets at the start of 2020. The benchmark index had been up 0.3% in the early going and then fell as much as 0.7% following the mixed reading from the U.S. Labor Department, which is usually the most anticipated piece of economic data every month.

Employers added only about half the number of jobs last month that economists expected, a seeming negative for the economy.

"Does this bring the Fed to the table in March or in June?" said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. "It's a moot point, in the long run. They're going to raise rates in 2022."

Higher rates could help corral the high inflation sweeping the world, but they would also mark an end to the conditions that have put financial markets in "easy mode" for many investors since early 2020.

CES show turnout falls over 75 percent

Attendance at this week's CES gadget show in Las Vegas fell more than 75% compared to its previous in-person event two years ago, according to the event's organizer.

The Consumer Technology Association said Friday that more than 40,000 people attended the multi-day event, compared to more than 170,000 for the last in-person CES two years ago.

The COVID-19 pandemic led the CTA to take 2021s conference online, but the trade group decided eight months ago to bring the in-person convention back to Vegas. That proved challenging amid a global spike in infections caused by the fast-moving omicron coronavirus variant.