How NC landed a supersonic project
N&O Innovation and Technology Newsletter: July 22, 2022
Today’s newsletter is 641 words, a 4.9-minute read.
Apple, Toyota, Boom Supersonic, VinFast.
Over the past 16 months, North Carolina has secured a number of major commitments from companies pledging to open facilities and hire thousands of people in the state.
This week, The News and Observer analyzed a trove of internal documents from the N.C. Department of Commerce on how state officials ultimately landed Boom, a Colorado-based company looking to transform commercial and military flight with the world’s fastest airliner.
The 1,383-pages of documents (each one super fun to read) showed how the threat of losing Boom to Florida pushed North Carolina to add $56 million to fund the project both states called “Thunderbird.” North Carolina will also provide Boom with more than $90 million in payroll tax breaks over the next 20 years if the company meets its annual employment and investment commitments.
Boom promises to employ 1,761 people and invest $500 million. The North Carolina Economic Investment Committee calculates the company’s presence over the next two decades will contribute $32.3 billion to the state economy. If this all comes to fruition, it is because the Tar Heel State edged out the Sunshine State in its negotiations with Boom.
“It’s a lot like poker,” said Dale Ketcham, a spokesperson for Space Florida, the economic development agency that lost out to North Carolina on the Boom sweepstakes. “You don’t really know what the other state is holding in his hand. But the company does.”
To read more about North Carolina’s negotiations with Boom, click here
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Quick Word From Me
I’m moving to the Triangle this weekend, and can’t wait to get to know the area, my colleagues, and see how expensive housing is in person. I’m coming from Asheville, where I’ve lived for three years. It’s a weird, beautiful, sometimes unnecessary, but exceedingly pleasant place. I highly recommend you check it out! Now, back to the newsletter.
TECH NEWS FROM THE TRIANGLE
NC tech job openings fall 10% in June as economic uncertainty and inflation build [N&O]
Triangle’s tech workforce ranks in top 20 nationwide [TBJ]
NC finalizes VinFast funding in Chatham County [N&O]
MY FIVE MUST-READS OF THE WEEK
▪ Netflix is adding ads in a bid to reverse subscriber losses. The streaming giant announced it will soon offer a cheaper subscription plan supported by advertising. The move is one of several shifts at the company which also looks to cut down on password sharing. So in a year, I won’t be able to watch Stranger Things brought to you by Visa on my ex-girlfriend’s mother’s account. [Polygon]
▪ Reporter Jill Lepore tells a personal story about the history and future of the Volkswagen Bus, which is rolling out a highly-anticipated electric model. [New Yorker]
▪ Compamnies are overlooking caste as an issue says Thenmozhi Soundararajan, head of Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights organization. Dalit is the historically lowest caste in the South Asian caste system that still creates bias and discrimination. [Slate]
▪ Apple agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit against its “butterfly” keyboard that was used in MacBooks from 2015 to 2019. Apple’s design caused major headaches for customers, many of who had to buy replacement keyboards or keys. Now, customers in seven states could receive $50 to $395. [Reuters]
▪ Amazon appears to be scaling down its private label selections, the thousands of items from batteries to luggage to phone chargers that sell under labels like Amazon Basics. Though cheap, these products haven’t been selling as well as the e-commerce behemoth would like, and they’ve drawn critics who argue Amazon unfairly undercuts competitors. [Wall Street Journal]
OTHER TRIANGLE BUSINESS
▪ A fixture in downtown Durham’s dining scene will be closing after 13 years. [N&O]
▪ Data shows Triangle rent prices up 50%. [N&O]
▪ Gas falls under $4 at some Raleigh stations. [Axios Raleigh]
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This newsletter was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
