On Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Commerce announced that two more companies were awarded the Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG). Under the JDIG agreement, a potential of up to more than $11 million in taxpayer money would go to the two companies over a 12-year period.

The announcements come as Gov. Roy Cooper begins his last five months in office.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce issued press releases announcing that the companies will soon be coming to North Carolina and promises to create almost 600 jobs combined. The announcement comes as a series of JDIG projects have failed this year to meet timeline and hiring targets.

“Of the over 400 JDIG agreements, 187 were withdrawn from or terminated before the firms reached their hiring goals,” wrote Joseph Harris, Fiscal Policy Analyst for the John Locke Foundation. “It is worth noting that 36 of these failed agreements occurred between 2022 and 2023 alone.”

Some of the latest examples of challenges in JDIG projects include delayed construction on Apple’s RTP campus and Vinfast changing its plans for an EV production facility in Chatham County. Some companies, such as Bandwidth and BioAgilytix Labs, LLC, have withdrawn their agreements.  BioAgilytix Labs, LLC announced earlier this year that they could not make good on the almost 900 jobs they had promised to create. 

American Titanium Metal, LLC, currently known as “Project Aero,” plans to spend $867.8 million to build a 500,000 sq ft manufacturing plant in Fayetteville to melt, roll, and finish aero-grad titanium, a current supply chain needs of the United States aerospace industry.  

A second manufacturing plant is coming to Wilson County courtesy of IDEXX Laboratories Inc., which produces veterinary diagnostic and software solutions and “provides innovations that help ensure the safety of milk and water across the world,” according to a press release. The Maine-based company says it will spend $147 million in a production plant to manufacture veterinary diagnostic products. 

“As Governor Cooper’s tenure comes to a close, his administration once again displays their hypocrisy on corporate taxes,” Brian Balfour, VP of Research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “While for years publicly announcing his disdain for ‘corporate tax giveaways,’ Cooper has doled out targeted corporate tax breaks potentially worth billions of dollars to crony corporations. Instead of lowering tax rates on all businesses, Cooper instead prefers to hand out taxpayer dollars to politically-selected companies so that he can take credit for ‘creating jobs.’ Meanwhile, these so-called economic incentive programs have a terrible track record of failing to live up to their promises.”

These projects were awarded the cash JDIG grants, approved by the Economic Investment Committee earlier this year. Cooper emphasized the state’s “talented workers and workforce training systems” in a statement welcoming IDEXX to Wilson County. 

“North Carolina’s strategic decision to focus on workforce development continues to pay dividends,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders in a press release. “We never take for granted the importance of a strong, well-trained workforce, and we will continue to invest in the schools and training programs that deliver results.”

IDEXX says it will create 275 new jobs. While wages vary based on position, the average salary would be $65,873. Wilson County’s average income is currently $52,619. The Department of Commerce says the community will have an annual payroll impact of more than $18 million. 

“With 20 plus years at US Steel and 13 years at Nucor Corporation, developing five greenfield steel mill projects, I am proud to lead the construction of such a mission-critical project,” said LeRoy Prichard, President of Capital Projects for Project Aero in a press release.

Project Aero promises to create 304 jobs. While wages will vary based on position, the average salary at Project Aero will be $123,476, more than double the current average salary in Cumberland County of $45,951. Project Aero promises an annual payroll impact of over $37 million. 

“These are just the latest examples of what has been an avalanche of corporate tax giveaways from the Cooper administration,” John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson told the Carolina Journal. “For someone who campaigned against lowering corporate taxes, Gov. Cooper has had no problem playing the role of reverse-Robin Hood and giving sweetheart deals to corporations in a discretionary program.”