(The Center Square) – Charlotte has landed its second new corporate headquarters in less than a week, thanks in part to taxpayer incentives.
Couple with incentives from North Carolina’s Queen City and Mecklenburg County, Danish global logistics company Maersk is in line for up to $9.8 million in taxpayer subsidies. A state board on Tuesday approved $7.9 million in state grants.
Maersk plans to invest $16 million to make Charlotte its North American corporate headquarters, adding 520 people to an existing Charlotte work force of about 780.
Last week, the state announced that Charlotte was picked as the corporate headquarters of a reborn and iconic American sport utility vehicle manufacturer Scout Motors Inc.
Worldwide, Maersk has a workforce of about 100,000, the state said. It provides shipping – both on the seas and on inland waterway – warehousing, custom services and digital logistics.
The new jobs in Charlotte will pay an average of $100,962, according to the state. The average salary for Mecklenburg County is $86,830.
Economists question the effectiveness of financial incentives to businesses to expand or come to a new state. Context is encouraged when wages are introduced because a few corporate leaders at a site can skew the average higher while the median wage would not have the same ratio.
Charlotte and Atlanta were the two finalists for the project, according to the state.
The company cited “labor market depth,” transportation facilities, overall business climate and competitiveness of the economic incentives as the reason for choosing Charlotte.
“North Carolina has been a key partner in our growth for more than two decades,” Charles van der Steene, president of the company’s North America Region, said in a statement. “Designating Charlotte as our North American headquarters location reinforces our confidence in the state’s business climate and workforce. We’re investing in North Carolina’s future because it’s a place where innovation and opportunity come together.”
The Charlotte headquarters will include employees in finance, human resources, commercial strategy and technology.
The state Job Development Investment Grants will be distributed to Maersk over 12 years, and only after the company verifies that it has met the promised targets for job creation, the state said. City and county money is also contingent on job creation.
