The company’s shares have soared in the news. After a jump of more than 200% in trading on Tuesday, the recovery continued until Wednesday.
The New York Stock Exchange stopped trading the shares several times on Wednesday morning as they had gained more than 500% by mid-morning. The stock has slashed those gains, but was still up nearly 300% at noon.
Kodak, once a major producer of film and cameras before the digital age, turned to become a materials and chemicals company. It filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and emerged as a restructured business the following year.
The company already makes key materials for some pharmaceuticals, so its new mission is just an expansion of that capacity, Kodak CEO Jim Continenza told CNN’s Julia Chatterley on Wednesday. Construction of the new production capacity will take three to three and a half years, he said.
The company will hire about 359 workers, most in New York State, and will create approximately 1,200 indirect jobs, Continenza told Chatterley.
“We are excited to bring those jobs back to New York,” he said.
Although the company benefited from the Trump administration’s use of DPA and Continenza praised New York Governor Andrew Cuomo several times during the interview, he said: “I am not a politician, I am a businessman, we have a company.”
.
