(The Center Square) – Lured in part by state subsidy of $5.5 million over 12 years, Fortune 500 mutual insurance company Pacific Life has chosen Charlotte for its East Coast hub and 300 jobs over the next five years.
The Newport Beach, Calif.-headquartered company made the announcement Tuesday, picking 68,000 square feet on three floors of the Queensbridge Collective in the central business district of the city. State officials say Pacific Life is investing $12.3 million in Mecklenburg County.
Pacific Life provides services for individuals and businesses in retail, institutional, workforce benefits, and reinsurance markets, its website says. Around for 160 years, the company is No. 272 on the Fortune 500 list with $239 billion in assets.
The Job Development Investment Grant program, overseen by the Economic Investment Committee of the state Commerce Department, uses a formula with new tax revenues, new jobs and capital investment.
“Attracting and developing leading talent is central to Pacific Life’s growth strategy,” said Pacific Life President and CEO Darryl Button. “Charlotte is home to a thriving workforce, and we look forward to welcoming new talent to the Pacific Life team to help drive our long-term success.
In a release, Charlotte said relocations and expansions in the last 12 months inclusive of Citigroup, AssetMark and SoFi Technologies will generate 2,400 new jobs and $215.3 million in capital investments in the city.
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.
First-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, in a release, said annual compensation averages for the jobs will be $176,250 – more than double the Mecklenburg average of $86,830.
