EMC Will Add 397 Jobs in North Carolina

Gov. of North Carolina Bev Perdue announced that EMC Corp. will expand in the Triangle, adding 397 jobs over the next five years and investing $280 million.

The Fortune 200 company plans to establish a new research facility in Durham County and increase its presence in Research Triangle Park and Apex. The project is contingent upon approval of local grants from Durham city and county officials.

“Information technology companies provide sustainable, well-paying jobs for more than 100,000 workers in North Carolina,” Perdue said. “When a world leader in the industry such as EMC Corp. chooses to expand here, it reinforces our message that this is the place for IT companies to do business.”

As a leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology, solutions and services, EMC provides a foundation for organizations of all sizes to manage and secure their vast and ever-increasing quantities of information; automate their data center operations; reduce power and cooling costs; and leverage critical information for business agility and competitive advantage.   

Headquartered in Massachusetts, EMC Corp. employs more than 40,000 people worldwide, including more than 900 employees in North Carolina. The 397 new jobs will pay an overall average salary of $73,325 per year, not including benefits. That is higher than the Durham annual average of $57,772 and the Wake average of $43,160.

“We’re very pleased to receive this generous grant from North Carolina,” said Bob Hawkins, vice president of North Carolina operations at EMC.  “EMC already has an extensive footprint in the state, so the grant enables us to continue investing in and leveraging North Carolina’s world-class talent pool to drive EMC’s innovation and long-term growth.”

The state Economic Investment Committee today voted unanimously to award a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) to EMC to facilitate this expansion.  Durham city and county officials will vote on local incentives in coming weeks. The project is contingent upon approval of those local incentives.

“During these tough economic times, it’s important to continue making investments to grow jobs and expand business in our state,” said Sen. Floyd McKissick.

“North Carolina’s knowledge-based workforce continues to provide world-class companies opportunities to expand and create jobs in our state, and we welcome EMC’s investment,” said Rep. Mickey Michaux.

Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 75 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the nine years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If EMC creates the jobs, makes the investment, pays the wages called for under the agreement and sustains them for nine years, the JDIG could yield as much as $7.4 million in maximum benefits for EMC Corp.

In addition, up to $2.48 million could be added to the state’s Industrial Development Fund for infrastructure improvements in economically distressed counties. When a JDIG is awarded in the state’s more economically prosperous counties such as Durham or Wake, 25 percent of the grant award is allocated to the Industrial Development Fund to encourage economic development in less prosperous counties.

North Carolina continues to have a top ranked business climate. Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative, the state continues to work aggressively to create jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.

Other partners that assisted with this announcement include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community Colleges, Durham County, City of Durham, the Durham and Apex Chambers of Commerce, Wake County Economic Development and Duke Energy.