GASTONIA, N.C. -- An employer that has laid off hundreds of workers in Gaston County announced Friday that 100 of them will be called back to work.

Freightliner will reopen its Gaston County plant on Tulip Drive and call 50 to 60 workers to help the company’s plant in Mexico build orders for projected sales. The Mt. Holly plant will recall 35.

Local United Auto Workers President Scott McAllister said, “Your heart skips a beat. It looks like a light at the end of the tunnel.”

However, he said he can’t guarantee the jobs will still be needed in six months.

The news has also brought hope at businesses like Tommy’s Drive-In, an independent restaurant that drew a lot of business from the Freightliner workers.

Union workers want the company to move ahead with plans to start building vehicles for the military, saying that will lead to more, and more long-term, jobs.