MANILA - Auto parts supplier Continental Temic Electronics Philippines said Thursday it was planning to hire more people for its Laguna plant, citing opportunities in the electric and autonomous car industries.

Continental will add 300 to 400 people in Calamba, on top of its 3,000-strong workforce in the next 2 years, its vice president and general manager Glenn Everett told ANC’s The Boss.

The company supplies controllers, electronic systems and sensors worldwide with Japan and China as its biggest market in the region.

“Every year there’s more electronics in cars, every year there’s more advances in autonomous or semi-autonomous functions of a car so that means a booming business,” Everett said.

Continental's Calamba plant was the first to receive an ISO 50001 certification that standardizes energy management and improvement, he said.

Currently, 5 to 6 percent of the energy used in the Calamba plant is from solar. By Dec. 26, Everett said the plant would switch to geothermal energy sourced in Albay, making 99.9 percent of its power "carbon neutral."

"Its part of our long-term plan to achieve carbon neutrality and renewable energy. We want to do good. As much as we can, we want to be a force that moves us towards better environment among other things," Everett said.

With a business located in an ecozone, the company is "worried" by the rationalization of incentives under second tranche of tax reforms, Everett said. The company is "working hard" with the government to arrive at a win-win solution, he said.

"The momentum of our businesses continues. But big decisions for our other business would depend on what the environment is like in the future," Everett said.