TUPELO (AP) — A Cooper Tire and Rubber plant in Mississippi has added more than 70 workers since a company restructuring led to the closing of a Georgia facility, company officials said.

Cooper Tire officials spoke at a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for a 32,000-square-foot expansion of its plant in Tupelo in north Mississippi.

The $7 million project could create as many as 150 new jobs, said Pat Jodon, the plant’s manager. Hiring could extend into the first quarter of next year.

‘‘We’re going to need them for the expansion and to ramp up production,’’ Jodon said.

Officials said 78 jobs have already been added in Mississippi since Cooper Tire closed its plant in Albany, Ga., after reviewing its North American operations last year.

The Mississippi plant was spared during the restructuring along with facilities in Findlay, Ohio, where Cooper Tire is based, and Texarkana, Ark.

State and local officials in Mississippi offered the company $30 million in incentives to keep the Tupelo plant open. The closing of the 1,300-worker plant in Georgia was a blow to that area, but helped the other plants because they picked up extra work and equipment.

Cooper Tire employs about 1,250 workers in Tupelo, plus an additional 400 contract workers. The significance of keeping the plant operating can’t be understated, officials said.

‘‘This is not just a good day, it’s an exceptional day,’’ said Tupelo Mayor Jack Reed Jr. ‘‘Employment is our No. 1 in anything and everything we do. And while Toyota represents a postponement in employment, what we’ve done here affects 1,200-plus workers and their families now.’’

Construction of the new mixing building, to be done by RFW Construction of Dyersburg, Tenn., is scheduled to begin later this month and be finished by April.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://nems360.com/