Vinfast, Wolfspeed and Boom: A look at NC’s 5 largest job announcements of 2022

North Carolina had another busy year recruiting businesses. Seemingly every week, the state approved projects that promise to create thousands of jobs in the coming years.

On Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office trumpeted the 28,300 new jobs in 2022 as a new record.

While history has shown that most state-backed economic projects never reach their original hiring goals, here’s a look back at the state’s five largest job announcements over the past 12 months.

Vinfast – 7,500 jobs

The Vietnamese carmaker is betting big on breaking through the competitive U.S. auto market. While it shipped its first 1,000 electric vehicles from Vietnam last month, the company aims to begin assembling vehicles at its Chatham County megasite starting in 2024.

In late March, North Carolina unveiled its VinFast deal. By 2027, the company has pledged to create 7,500 new jobs at an average annual salary of $51,096. The state is contributing $854 million over 32 years, and Chatham County will contribute another $400 million.

Vinfast hopes to join the ranks of Hyundai and Toyota as foreign automakers to find a foothold in the United States. The company has recently walked back a plan to only offer its car batteries via a leasing model, instead now giving customers the option to lease their batteries or buy them outright.

Television/film projects – 6,400 jobs

North Carolina’s second largest job announcement of 2022 wasn’t from a single company, but from an industry. The state awarded grants to seven television and film projects that promise to create 6,400 job opportunities in the state.

Recipients include feature films like “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” and shows like “Hightown” (Starz) and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” (Prime Video).

Most of the projects will film in the southeastern corner of the state near Wilmington or around Mecklenburg County.

For example, the drama “Hightown” uses coastal North Carolina as a stand-in for Cape Cod.

“2022 is another great year for the film and production industry in North Carolina,” said North Carolina Film Office Director Guy Gaster in a statement in late October. “We are excited to have these new projects creating economic wins for the communities in which they are filming, the crew and talent they are employing, and the local businesses from which they are making their purchases.”

Macy’s – 2,800 jobs

Perhaps flying a bit under the radar, the department store announced a new distribution center in Rowan County’s China Grove this year that could create up to 2,800 jobs in the state.

In April, the company pledged to invest more than half-a-billion dollars into its 1.4 million-square-foot site.

“The addition of Macy’s state-of-the-art distribution center is another reminder that North Carolina is the right environment to grow your business, no matter the industry,” said Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, in a statement after the news was announced.

Wolfspeed – 1,800 jobs

North Carolina edged out New York to land Wolfspeed’s new silicon chip facility, which it plans to open on a megasite in Chatham County.

On Sept. 9, the state awarded Wolfspeed a $76.1 million job development investment grant, or JDIG. To benefit from the full financial package, Wolfspeed must reach its 1,802 jobs target over five years from 2026 to 2030. The average minimum wage will be $77,753.

Wolfspeed specializes in producing chips made from silicon carbide, and demand for their chips has grown alongside the market for electric vehicles. “We literally can’t make enough,” said the late John Palmour, chief technology officer and cofounder of Wolfspeed, in September.

Boom Supersonic – 1,750 jobs

It might be a moonshot, but North Carolina has high hopes for Boom Supersonic ushering the next wave of commercial air travel with its Greensboro-made supersonic jets.

In January, the Colorado-startup announced it would build a $500 million “flagship” production and testing facility at the Piedmont Triad International Airport. A $121.5 million incentive package between the state and Guilford County helped North Carolina beat out Florida for the company.

The facility promises to employ up to 1,761 workers earning an average yearly salary of $68,792.

Boom hasn’t made its jet, which it envisions cruising at speeds that cut travel times in half. In December, the company unveiled a new engine design three months after losing its original engine partner, Rolls-Royce.

This story 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.

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