RALEIGH – Wolfspeed’s planned $5 billion investment in North Carolina is coming with some big costs: $1 billion in state and local tax incentives, grants, training and a direct appropriation from the General Assembly. Of that amount, more than half is coming from Chatham County – the site of the plant – and nearby Siler City.

But to win the deal North Carolina faced a huge incentives package from a competitor.

New York state.

New York had already wooed away from N.C. a Wolfspeed chip plant that was built near Marcy, NY. It opened in April. Wolfspeed initially picked North Carolina before a change of minds.

In the EIC document including terms of the tax incentives, Wolfspeed was told this time a potential incentives package worth ‘”greater than” $1.3 billion would be possible.

Also, automotive manufacturer VinFast actually got a bigger incentive package for its Chatham County deal earlier this year: $1.25 billion. While the company is committed to a $4 billion investment it is creating thousands more jobs than Wolfspeed plans.

Local governments are kicking in some $400 million for the VinFast deal compared to$615 million for Wolfspeed.

What the $4B VinFast plant means for the Triangle – and the state

What’s the return on investment?

According to the economic model used by Commerce (created by and named after N.C. State University economist Dr. Mike Walden) will be more than $17 billion.

Here’s a breakdown on the incentives as included in the contract signed between the Durham-based company and the state as approved early Friday by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee:

  • Chatham County/Siler City: $615 million
  • Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG): $76 million in payroll tax rebates
  • Community College training: $3.6 million
  • State appropriation: $57.5 million
  • Golden LEAF Foundation: $9.7 million
  • NC Department of Transportation: $10 million
  • Community Development Block Grant: $2.5 million

Note: This story has been corrected to remove references to a $10 million increase in the JDIG: As noted by the Department of Commerce: “The difference is the $10 million that benefits rural communities who apply for grants from our Utility Account – Wolfspeed will not receive that $10 million, although it is part of the JDIG announced today – as you’ll recall, the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs help not only fund the award to the company, but also our Utility Account for rural infrastructure upgrades.”

 

Wolfspeed announces $5 billion investment in Chatham County, largest in NC history