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GE-Hitachi to Add 900 New Jobs in NC

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North Carolina Governor Mike Easley (D) and state officials announced today that GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy will expand its campus in Wilmington, NC. The move will add 900 new jobs to the area over the next five years.

Via The News & Observer:
He [Jim Fain, N.C. Commerce Secretary] predicted the GE expansion would have "a significant halo effect" in the Southeastern region of the state.

GE-Hitachi plans to invest $704 million at its New Hanover County campus and pay average annual salaries of $85,000. The Hanover County average wage is $33,226 a year.

The company plans to add new manufacturing, training, simulation and testing facilities at its 1,300-acre campus.

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Anonymous said…
Corporate socialism is just as wrong as welfare socialism. Corporations have to be able to stand on their own two feet just as individuals have to be able to stand on their own two feet. It's not the job of government to bail either companies or people out of a difficult situation. With regard to companies, the only legitimate function of government is to protect the freedom of the market place. With respect to individuals, the only legitimate function of government is to protect the individual right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But liberty - freedom - means responsibility. You are personally responsible if you succeed and you are equally responsible if you fail, and nanny government isn't going to bail you out. Doing so requires money and that means wealth redistribution. Why should wealth be taken as excessive taxes from working people and given to wealthy corporations? Wealth redistribution means license to do whatever you want without responsibility, without accountability, and makes you a slave to what government can do for you. You become sheep and beget a government of wolves.

Either GE-Hitachi is committed to nuclear energy or it isn't. I don't think it is committed. I think it would rather suckle at the teat of the public treasury. It sold ABWR to Toshiba and now is in a pickle with South Texas, and ESBWR is still being financed by DOE - now Castle Hayne needs state and local funding? Horse manure! IF GE Capitol can't fund GE-Hitachi, then the State of North Carolina can't either. By the way, GE needs to rein in the liberalism and anti-nuclearism of NBC which GE owns and start publicizing its ESBWR as part of ecomagination in its TV commercials.

I hate socialism. But sadly with the defeat of the USSR it still isn't defeated.
May 1, 2008 at 6:22 AM
Anonymous said…
In its heyday, GE employed over 6,000 workers in its San Jose, California facility. Subsuppliers in the state must have added thousands more.

Today, GE employs maybe 200.

Hey Arnold! What are you doing about keeping those high paid jobs in California? Sure, they aren't Hollywood or union jobs (mostly), but shouldn't we be in the race?

A few vetos of those business-UNfriendly bills that come out the state legislature would help. Bribery with state money (like NC used) is just your bluntest tool.

Even some more free pro-nuclear grandstanding would help.

Joe Somsel
May 1, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Anonymous said…
Joe Somsel, I'm the 1st anon. GE de-nuked itself in the late 80s and early 90s and deserves the reward of its actions. GE wanted to get out of nuclear. GE Energy relied on wind turbines and gas turbines. GE Medical got so screwed up that it was shut down as a result of loss of control of software requirements specifications for its digital medical equipment (there's an FDA letter to GE about this). Now GE wants to do digital I&C for ABWR and ESBWR? Ha! It's become too big and too arrogant. Toshiba-Westinghouse will do at South Texas what GE is incapable of, and the government should bail NO ONE out. Let the free market decide.
May 1, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Anonymous said…
Don't get me wrong - I'm not lobbying for a government handout to GE! They spend $20 million a year on that and can take care of themselves. I know full well their problems on their technically ambitious ESBWR!

I'm pushing to keep Californians in the nuclear job market - no matter for whom they work. Fortunately, I personally was able to move to a new nuclear job in California recently.

I'm just complaining that the government of the state of California should be responsive to the economic needs of its citizens and keeps in the job retention and creation game.

Joe Somsel
May 1, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks, Joe Somsel. I agree. The Gubernator should openly support nuke power and petition the state legislature to reverse its stand against building new nukes, but probably won't because of all the fruit and nuts in Californian politics.
May 1, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Below is the web link to the official announcement from the Office of the Governor of the State of North Carolina on granting GE-Hitachi 25.7 million dollars in terms of grants and tax incentives:

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/News_FullStory.asp

Such grants to Castle Hayne have apparently been done previously in North Carolina's history. The current 25.7 million dollar incentive package appears to be specifically for the new uranium laser enrichment facility to be built at Castle Hayne, not for ESBWR or ABWR, but it's hard to read between the lines in political announcements during election year (or at any time, for that matter). The interested reader may find out more about Governor Easley at the following web links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Easley

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/

Interestingly enough, Gov. Easely is a Democrat and has supported Hillary Clinton's candidacy. Both of those facts are quite disappointing. Indeed, if Hillary gets elected, then she'll kill GNEP and DOE's pro-nuclear power stance which will kill GE-Hitachi's ESBWR (because significant funding is already coming from DOE - just how much money from the public trough does GE-Hitachi reqquire?), but that's NOT what the 25.7 million dollar incentive is apparently for.
May 2, 2008 at 7:50 AM
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