Been out of town and now slowly digging my way out… So Chiquita Brands International is leaving town, after only having been lured to Charlotte from the other Queen City not that many years ago by $22 million in state and local incentives over 10 years. So, as the UPoR reports, some county commissioners are now saying that the county should now rethink its economic incentives policies. Sample quotes:
“You can’t expect loyalty from any company if you’re paying them to move,” said Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James, a longtime critic of incentives. “Government was basically prostituting themselves to get them here. … Nobody falls in love with a prostitute.”
And:
County commissioner Matthew Ridenhour said Chiquita’s pullout provides a case study for why the board needs to review its incentive grant program.
“I think it shows the reality of these grants,” he said. “We can be excited when businesses choose to locate in Charlotte, but just as easily as they come, they can also go somewhere else.”
Ridenhour said the board’s economic development committee, which he chairs, had already begun to review the incentive grants program. “Now we’ll need to discuss how the Chiquita case will change our program, if at all.”
While James makes a good point about incentives not buying loyalty, that’s not the real lesson here. The state, city, and county just didn’t do their due diligence — Chiquita was a very unhealthy company when it moved to Charlotte. Ultimately, it got bought out, which is what happens to a lot of underperforming companies, and that often results in a move or combining of headquarters. So the shocking development here isn’t Chiquita is leaving town, it’s that anyone is surprised that they are leaving town in the manner that they are.
