Conditional Grants Would Help Goodyear Plant

(Akron/Tire Review – Fayetteville Observer) The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Fayetteville could receive US$40 million in state grants if it spends at least $200 million on improvements and keeps a minimum of 2,400 workers. A bill approved 105-5 by the North Carolina House on July 26 creates a fund designed to help the tyremaker, which closed two plants last year. The Fayetteville site, which has been on Ramsey Street for 38 years, was among those considered for closing.

The bill now goes to the state Senate. It would give as much as $4 million yearly for 10 years to as many as five companies meeting the investment and employment requirements. Fayetteville’s Goodyear plant is the only one that qualifies. “This is huge for all of the communities,” said Rep. Margaret Dickson, a Fayetteville Democrat who worked on the bill.

Goodyear also has manufacturing sites in Iredell, Nash and Randolph counties that make components for the Fayetteville plant, which is Goodyear’s largest of four tyre plants in North America. “This is at least a 10-year commitment to the workforce,” said Rep. Rick Glazier, a Democrat whose district includes the plant. “To receive the incentive at the highest level, they have to keep their work force at the highest level. If they don’t, they could lose part or all of the incentive.”

The grant is different from other state incentives because it is aimed at job retention at existing companies rather than incentives to attract new companies. “This is a new program that will help existing employers who already provide good jobs for our friends and neighbors,” said Rep. David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican. “It will help employers modernise their plants to move forward.” Rep. Larry Bell, a Sampson County Democrat, said the bill would have a ripple effect, helping some of his constituents who are Goodyear employees.

Glazier said Goodyear’s jobs are especially desirable – the average annual salary is almost $60,000 and tops $90,000 when benefits are added. “In terms of cost-per-employee, this is by far the best incentive deal that North Carolina has struck,” he said. Goodyear must show it intends to complete its investment in five years. It would apply to the Commerce Department to receive funding. The first grant would become available in July 2008, and the General Assembly would have to reauthorise the program yearly.

The company has promised to spend $550 million over the next three years on its North American plants, but has yet to say how much would come to Fayetteville. The company has invested its own money for improvements in recent years. Evans said work toward the bill began more than a year ago, when the company started meeting with state and local officials to discuss incentives. Besides the state funding, Goodyear could receive $3.4 million from Cumberland County and $1 million from the city of Fayetteville, with each entity spreading payments over 10 years.

Glazier said Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission has committed to provide $10 million in power savings over five years. Fayetteville Technical Community College would offer plant workers training in new technologies at no cost, which Glazier said was a $2.6 million value. The total package of about $57 million far exceeds a bond package approved this week for a Goodyear tyre plant in Gadsden, Alabama. An incentive deal for another plant in Union City, Tennessee, is being negotiated, Glazier said.

If the North Carolina bill fails in the Senate, Evans said, the plant’s future is uncertain. “We’ll see what the state will do,” he said. “After that, the company will decide what to do.”