Dell has been told that it will have to pay back millions in sweeteners and tax concessions after bailing out of a US factory plan.

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue is furious with Dell after it closed its plant in the State. The plant had been built with huge amounts of grants and tax breaks. However Perdue said that Dell was not just going to skip without paying back every “red cent” the State had invested in the plant.

She said that Dell didn't meet job and investment performance standards when it closed its Forsyth County computer desktop plant and put 900 people out of work. The Legislature and local governments offered Texas-based Dell a deal worth up to $318 million in tax breaks and grants.

If Perdue does chase Dell it will make many tech companies think twice about entering into such deals with states. True they are encouraged to come to a region but if something bad happens and they have to shut down it could cost them a fortune.