You can't just close factories
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.