Appliance Maker Electrolux announced it will add more than 800 jobs with the expansion of their U.S. corporate headquarters in Charlotte. Electrolux says it will also invest more than $85 million toward construction costs for the expansion.
Jack Troung, president and CEO of Electrolux's Major Appliances division in North America, had his hand firmly around Governor McCrory's waist in a side hug after the official announcement. They were both beaming while talking about how Electrolux decided to build a new 6-story research facility next to its current headquarters in the University area.
"It's relationships and confidence in the labor force and the quality of life ... and there are other factors including incentives that get you in the door and beat the competition," McCrory says.
The competition was other states in the Southeast, where the company already has a presence – including Tennessee and South Carolina.
But Truong says state and local incentives of more than $27 million were crucial to deciding to expand in North Carolina. The company is receiving a Job Development Investment Grant of $27.4 million. That's money that the company will receive over the next 12 years if it meets job creation and performance goals.
Truong says access to transportation, quality of life and the company's proximity to UNC Charlotte was also critical.
"During the past couple of years, we have been working very, very closely with the local universities to make sure that we have the right program, the right technology that cater to our appliance R&D manufacturing," Truong says.
He says Electrolux has already started hiring for these new positions which are mainly in the research and design, marketing, IT and finance fields. The company hopes to hire 810 people by 2017.
The average salary for the new positions will be $100,000. Mecklenburg County Commission Chairman Trevor Fuller says Mecklenburg County will provide another $4 million in incentives to the company, though it still needs to be formally approved.
The company relocated its North American headquarters to Charlotte in 2010 from Augusta, Georgia after receiving $27 million dollar in incentives.
With this expansion, Electrolux will have more than 1,700 employees in the Charlotte area.